LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



□□□E05D70ba 



LEAVES FROM 



CONJURERS' Scrap Books 

OR, 



MODERN MAGICIANS AND 
THEIR WORKS. 



.f^^' BY 

H. J. BURLINGAME. 



DETROIT 

Singing Tree Press 

1971 



This is a facsimile reprint of the 
1891 edition pubHshed in Chicago 
by Donohue, Henneberry & Co. 



Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 70 117061 



ASP 
GIFT 
PUBLISHER 




PREFACE. 



Modern Magic, skillfully presented, has many 
attractions, and this book has been written because 
such a book was repeatedly asked for. Therefore 
no apology is needed for its publication. 

H. J.B. 

Chicago, January, 1891. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Of the Mysteries of the Black Art.-The Old School Conjurers. 
Comte's Talent ; his Tricks.— The Dexterity of Philippe and Tor- 
rini.— The Genius of Anderson for Advertising.— Account of 
Robert Houdin; his Successful Career as a Conjurer. - - T 

CHAPTER II. 

AMERICAN CONJURERS. 

Zera Semon.— Edward Reno.— Prof. Samuels.— J. M. Balabrega.— M. 
Hartz.-Carl Hertz..— Imro Fox.— Wm.— Robinson.— "Zanzic." 
Prof. Zamloch.— Charles F. Fillebrown.— Powell Brothers.— Vari- 
ety Performers.— Prof. Canaris, the Greek." -The Romance Of 
Prof. Henry Willio.— Goldberg.— Hatton.- Eddie Abbott, the 
" Only Boy Magician."— Robert Heller. 14 

CHAPTER III. 

PROMINENT CONJURERS ABROAD. 
John Nevil Maskelyne.— Dr. Holden.— Dr. Lynn.— Robert Kudarz.— 
Buatier de Kolta.— The Bamberg and Basch Families.— Jacoby- 
Harms.— German and French Conjurers.— Prof. Patrizio.- Prof. 
Hartwig Seeman. - 38 

CHAPTER IV. 

PROMINENT AND SKILLFUL AMATEURS. 

Amateurs of the Pacific Coast.— "Mine Host" Taylor.— The Appa- 
ratus Amateurs buy.— Chicago Amateurs —Salo Ansbach; his 
Career. - -. 53 

CHAPTER V. 

THE HERRMANNS AND HARRY KELLAR. 
The Original Carl Herrmann.— Alexander Herrmann; his Confed- 
erates; how They Sometimes Fail.— Harry Kellar ; his Travels. 
Alexander Herrmann's Cremation.— Mar tino's Sphinx.— Kellar's 
Growth of Flowers. 64 

CHAPTER VI. 

HYPNOTISTS AND THEIR EXPERIMENTS. 
How to Hypnotize.— The use of Confederates.— The Kennedy Broth- 
ers.— Robert Fulton's Experiments.—" Professor " Johnson. - 91 



VI 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VII. 

MIND-READERS AND THEIR TRICKS. 
J. Randall Brown.— Washington Irving Bishop.— Stuart Cumberland. 
—How to Become a Mind-Reader.— Seymour.— Paul Alexander 
Johnstone.— Remarkable "Test" by Sid. Macaire.— Lucy de 
Gentry; her Quick Success.— An Aspiring Amateur's Predica- 



ment. -108 

CHAPTER VIII. 

INSTANTANEOUS MEMORIZATION. 

The Art of Memory.— Instantaneous Memorization made use of by 
Patrizio.— Effects Produced by Hatton and Eoberth. - - 128 

CHAPTER IX. 



SECOND-SIGHT AND ANTI SPIRITUALIST ARTISTS. 
The Balabregas, Roucleres, Merlins.— Prof. Marvelle.— Anna Eva 
Fay; her Exciting Chicago Experience.— The Baldwins.— The 
Steens. - --- 135 

CHAPTER X. 

THE VANISHING LADY, COCOON, CREMATION AND OTHER ILLUSIONS. 

The Vanishing Lady.— The Magic Husband.— The Cocoon.— Alex- 
ander Herrmann's Decapitations.— Vanek's Decapitation.— Cre- 
mation.— The " Mystery of She."— "The Lady from an Envelope." 
—The Spirit Bell of Prof. Alkahazar.— The "Amphitrite" Illusion. 151 

CHAPTER XI. 

PECULIAR HAPPENINGS. 
The St. Louis Genius.— The Impatient Albany Man.— Some Remark- 
able Letters.— East Indian Fakirs.— What Barnello Saw.— The 
Sailor and his Parrot. 177 

CHAPTER XII. 

MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 
Dr. Holden's Adventures in Egypt, Algeria and India —Deaf Men at 
a Show.— Frazer Coulter's Failure as an Assistant.— The Old Trick 
of "Prof. Hume."— Baron Socman's Wit and Ingenuity; his 
Russian Experience.— Old Bamberg's Arrest; his Skill.— How 
D'Alvini Broke up the Sharpers.— Foreign and Home Audiences. 



-Lady Professionals.— The Future of the Art. - - - - 189 
APPENDIX. 

Instantaneous Memorization Code.— Application for a Patent on a 
Spirit Room.— The " Stroubaika " Illusion.— The Palanquin 
Trick.— Heller's Second-Sight Code, 326 



MODERN MAGICIANS 

AND 

THEIR WORKS. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Of the Mysteries of the Black Art— The Old School Conjur- 
ers — Comte s Talent — The Dexterity of Philippe and Torrini 
— The Genius of Anderson for Advertising — Account of 
Robert Houdin — His Successful career as a Conjurer. 

It is comparatively easy novv-a-days to look behind 
the scenes on the stage of a prestidigitateur. A 
number of makers of magical apparatus sell every- 
thing desired: wands, cups, rings, balls, prepared 
cards, coins, and many other articles. Directions 
accompany each and every article. Books, from the 
cheap " sell " of a ten cent pamphlet to the finely 
bound and illustrated edition, offer to initiate one 
into the mysteries of the black art ; but all these 
only say in what the trick consists, not how it is 
done.* Usually the most interesting tricks are kept 

♦As an exception to this are the admirable manuals v^ritten by Prof. 
Hoffmann and Mr. Sachs, of London. 



8 



MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



secret by adepts, or only revealed in consideration 
of an extra high price. 

The conjurers of the better class were, formerly, 
mostly French or Italian. They called themselves 
"Physiciens" or " Escamoteurs." The name of 
prestidigitateurs was first used by Jules De Rovere, 
who belonged to the old school, to which belonged 
also Olivier, Prejean, Brazy, Comus, Chalons, Adrien 
pere, Courtois and Comte — not to mention Lichten- 
berg's famous Pinetti. The most noted was 
undoubtedly Comte. A Frenchman from head to 
foot, he did extraordinary things with rare taste and 
great amiability. All his illusions meant for a small 
audience carr/ the impress of finest humor. For 
instance, he assures you he is going to steal all the 
ladies present ; the gentlemen are scared and 
amused ; Comte reassures them with the promise 
that he will do it to their satisfaction. He Avaves 
his hands in the air and produces a quantity of the 
most beautiful roses out of nothing. He continues: 
"I had promised to take away and metamorphose 
all these ladies ; could I choose a more graceful and 
pleasant form? In metamorphosing all to roses, 
don't I offer the copy to the model ? Don't I take 
you away to give you back to yourselves ? Tell me, 
gentlemen, did I not succeed?" Then he begins 
to divide the roses among the audience. Here, 
mademoiselle, is a rose you made blush with jeal- 
ousy ! " Before another pretty girl he changes the 
rose into an ace of hearts, and the wizard says : 
" Will you please, madam, lay your hand on your 
heart ? You have only one heart, is it not so ? I 



INTRODUCTION. 



9 



beg your pardon for this indiscreet question ; it was 
necessary; for, though you have only one heart, you 
might have them all" Such " plays on words," are 
told about Comte by the hundred. 

An important progress in the development of the 
art of conjuring was made by Philippe and Torrini. 
The latter especially possessed such a dexterity in 
handling cards, and such a boldness of execution, 
that the audience was involuntarily carried away to 
admiration without suspicion. His piquet trick stands 
alone of its kind. Also in other respects he showed 
admirable boldness. He was an Italian nobleman who 
had been driven to take the career of a prestidigita- 
teurby adverse circumstances, and once while staying 
in Home he was asked to give a performance before 
the Pope. The day before, he happened to see a 
very valuable watch in a jeweler's window, and 
which was said to be the only one in existence like 
the celebrated watch of Cardinal X. This one had 
arrived the day before from Paris. After Torrini 
had ascertained that the Cardinal would be present 
at his performance, he bought the chronometer for 
the respectable price of twelve hundred francs, and 
made the watchmaker promise to keep silent about 
the matter. 

At the close of his performance Torrini asked for 
any very costly object, which, if possible, was the 
only one of its kind in the world. At the pope's 
order the cardinal handed his watch to the artist. 
Torrini took a mortar, dropped the watch in it in 
plain ifeight of all, and with a pestle pounded the 
irreparable jewel to a thousand atoms, to the horror 



10 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

of the Spectators. Torrini invited them all to come 
up and look at the remains of the watch in the mor- 
tar. On doing so the cardinal announced, with a 
trembling voice, that his watch had not been 
exchanged, as he could recognize it in the pieces; the 
watch had really been destroyed. Torrini used this 
moment of general excitement to drop the watch 
unobserved into the pope's pocket, and as soon as 
quiet was restored he asked his audience to name a 
person w^ho was sure not to be in secret understand- 
ing with him. As he had expected, everybody 
pointed to Pius YII. " Very well," continued Tor- 
rini, making some mysterious motions, " I want to 
reproduce the watch, and it shall be found in the 
pocket of His Holiness." The pope at once felt in 
his pocket with signs of incredulity, and, blushing 
with excitement, took the watch out of his pocket, 
Avhich he at once handed to the cardinal in a great 
hurry, as if he w^as afraid of burning his fingers 
with it — this mysterious object. One can imagine 
what a sensation this trick caused in Rome. Tor- 
rini never repented this expensive but original adver- 
tisement. 

As far as advertising was concerned, nobody was 
more inventive than Anderson, the Wizard of the 
I^orth." Once in the forties he sent to all London 
butter dealers wooden molds with his name, his 
" titles," and the hour of his performance engraved 
on them, with the request they might put this stamp 
on the butter they sold. As almost everybody is 
oblioredto use butter, this idea deserves to be remem- 
bered. Another time he offered a silver vase as a 



INTRODUCTION. 



11 



prize for the best conundrum that could be made 
between acts. Everybody had the right to offer 
a conundrum, and the audience should give the 
decision by the strength of the applause they 
bestowed. Not enough, Anderson had all these 
more or less good conundrums taken down in short- 
hand and printed in small books which he sold at a 
shilling each. He knew very well that most people 
like to see themselves in print. Each book contained 
over 1,000 conundrums. 

Whether Philadelphia, Dobler, or Bosco were 
really as prominent as one would suppose from 
their performances, remains an open question. Of 
Bosco we know positively that it was the reverse. 
He used any and every means to produce an effect, 
and carried his brutality so far as to really kill the 
birds he often used in his tricks. He used every 
opportunity to show off his tricks; on the stage, at 
the table d'hote, in cafes, in saloons, everywhere he 
performed his tricks. Last, but not least, his har- 
monious yet odd name helped him to become pop- 
ular. These were the same circumstances which 
some decades later gave Bellachini his reputation. 
All these performers, and the many not mentioned, 
are distanced by that classic artist among prestidigi- 
tateurs, Eobert Houdin. 

Houdin gave to the public the incidents of his life 
in a book, which is interesting reading on account of 
the attractive, varied contents, and the simplicity of 
its narration. He also tells with admirable frank- 
ness the secrets of the order whose grand master he 
was, and he describes minutely all his mechanical. 



12 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

technical and especially his electro-technical inven- 
tions. He must be recognized as a man of fine edu- 
cation, as a graceful writer and as a technical genius. 
To him we owe the electric bell, the first mechanical 
barometers, the first perfect match safe, besides the 
first application of the system of pneumatic tubes. 
He was the first one to use the principal of the tele- 
phone in what he called " the waves of sound." As 
a child he handled the instruments in his father's 
workshop, who was a watchmaker. This taste for 
all mechanical appliances grew to a passion as strong 
as the passion of a bibliomaniac for rare books, or of 
a numismatologist for his coins. 

Houdin investigated everything that was put 
together ; he wanted always to repair and to build. 
He had very original ideas. At college he invented 
the following means to waken early : he tied a string 
around the great toe of his right foot, carried it 
through the half-open window to the garden gate, 
where he fastened it so that it should pull when the 
gate was opened. Every morning when the old 
servant opened the door, little Robert was obliged 
to jump quickly out of bed, which thoroughly 
awakened him. From these primitive arrangements 
to the celebrated " Magic Villa " is a long step, but 
the former are to the latter as the promising begin- 
ning is to the happy end. The countr}^ residence of 
the old, private gentleman caused great admiration ; 
there were electric wires from the cellar to the gar- 
ret ; mysterious automatons turned up at odd cor- 
ners; folding doors joined rooms together; bells, 



INTRODUCTION. 



13 



traps and self-acting revolvers kept the burglars 
away ; in short, it was the real fairy house. 

A conjurer of German descent gave Houdin, then 
a ten-year-old boy, his first lessons in conjuring ; a 
book taught him, later on, the most important tricks. 
How he continued to study the conjurer's art and at 
last adopted the conjurer's calling, to the consterna- 
tion of his family, can be read in his biography. 
Much can be said of his triumphs. Before emperors 
and kings, before Manchester working men and 
African savages, this magician performed with brill- 
iant success. From an obscure watch-maker's shop 
his genius and talent as a conjurer carried him 
through a long, successful and honorable career. 

Since the days of Houdin no new reformer has 
appeared in the magic art. It continues in the 
same groove as forty years ago, though it tries to 
deck itself with anti-spiritualism and mind-reading. 
There is also now a lack of prestidigitateurs who are 
masters in all branches. One may excel in card 
tricks, another in coins, while another handles 
apparatus to perfection. Of the many hundreds of 
others, all that can be said is, they work Avell. 



CHAPTER II. 



AMERICAN CONJURERS. 

Zera Semon— Edward Reno — Prof. Samuels — J. M. Balabrega— 
M. Hartz— Carl Hertz— Imro Fox— William Robinson— 
"Zanzic"— Prof. Zamloch— Charles F. Fillebrown— Powell 
Brothers — Variety Performers — Prof. Canaris, the "Greek." 
—The Romance of Prof. Henry Willio— Goldberg— Hatton — 
Eddie Abbott, the " Only Boy Magician "—Robert Heller. 

A prominent American Magician is Zera Semon, 
who makes the good old city of Richmond, Ya., his 
home. If any one has been fortunate enough to 
make his acquaintance, he will soon discover from 
his entertaining qualities as a conversationalist, that 
he comes from the old "F. F. Y's." He is well 
known through the Southern States, where he enjoys 
a very good reputation. The past two years he has 
been traveling through the Northern States and 
Canada, where he is a great favorite. He is, perhaps, 
now the only leading conjurer in the States making 
gifts a feature of his show. His programme consists 
of the usual effective tricks that are found in the 
repertoire of the better class of magicians. In addi- 
tion to this, he is the only one in this country intro- 
ducing a full stage set of life-size marionettes in a 
complete minstrel scene. He is ably assisted by his 

14 



AME&ICAN CONJURERS. 



accomplished wife. Together they secure deserved 
success and applause in their original spiritualistic 
canopy act, which is an improvement on the one 
first introduced by the celebrated Eobert Heller. 

One of the rising young magicians of the present 
time is Edward Reno. He carries a large, first-class 
outfit, and is one of the few that know how to 
work what he has to advantage. His experience 
dates from the year 1880. In the manipulation of 
his tricks and apparatus he shows a skill rarely sur- 
passed. He is noted as one who always gives what 
is called a square show." For a number of years 
he has traveled over the same route in the Western 
States, a repetition of tours over the same ground 
being a sure proof of popularity. At present he is 
touring 'New York State, and meeting ^vith the suc- 
cess he deserves. He has one peculiarity quite re- 
markable in a conjurer, and that is, he very seldom 
plays any game of cards ; in fact, does not care to 
play cards at ail. When he does, he nearly always 
wins, if he wishes to, because he is able to make 
nine different passes with a pack of cards, and deals 
with facility from either the top or bottom of a 
pack, feats that are even rare among magicians. 

Prof. Reno is ably assisted by his amiable and 
esteemed wife, who is one of the best lady magi- 
cians on the stage in our country.. She is exceed- 
ingly careful in all her work, and never attempts a 
trick before the public until certain of success. It 
would be to the advantage of other professionals to 
follow her . example in this respect. There is no 
reason why Prof. Reno should not have the con- 



16 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

tinued favor he so well merits ; and he will, no 
doubt, be one of the leaders of the profession in a 
few years. 

A very clever conjurer, who retired from the pro- 
fession a few years ago, is Prof. Samuels, now liv- 
ing at Fort Sheridan, 111. A leading critic once said 
of one of his performances: "He just keeps the 
grip on his audience from first to last, and never 
olfends the most fastidious." To have seen one of 
his magical entertainments was indeed a treat, as 
there has been no magician of late years on the 
stage in our country who was so witty, original and 
entertaining as he. In this respect he can only be 
compared to Eobert Heller. Not only was he noted 
for extraordinary skill in conjuring, but also as a 
mimic and ventriloquist. As an inventor of in- 
genious mechanical effects and sleight-of-hand tricks, 
he has probably no superior living. The best expert 
conjuring talent of Europe have acknowledged that 
some of his inventions deserve the very highest 
praise, and that he shows an extraordinary inventive 
genius. This talent he has used in many lines out- 
side of conjuring. He is occasionally prevailed upon 
to give an entertainment for some charitable society 
in his vicinity, and he never fails to draw a full 
house. 

It seems almost a pity for the improvement of the 
conjurer's art, that Prof. Samuels should have given 
up a professional career to engage in commercial 
pursuits; yet, in many cases, professionals are, no 
doubt, doing the best thing who follow his example, 
as the vicissitudes of a showman's life are known 



AMESICAN CONJURERS, 



17 



to all. At the time the trick of the Vanishing Lady 
was introduced, he made the witty remark that it 
was a fine chance for performers to start out in a 
new branch of the divorce business, as they would 
no doubt have plenty to do, by vanishing anybody's 
wife for the sum of twenty-five dollars. 

One of the leading younger professionals who has 
made himself prominent, is J. M. Balabrega, known 
for a number of years as the " Swedish Wonder." 
He was born at Helsingborg, a little town in the 
southern part of Sweden, the twentieth of August, 
1857. In those times in that country workers in 
the " Art Mysterious" were not as plentiful as now, 
and were looked upon by the lower classes as some- 
thing more than human. Prof. Balabrega well 
remembers the success created by one of his father's 
contemporary wonder-workers, the old Prof. LeTort, 
whose performance he witnessed when a child. Such 
a thing as guessing then how the tricks were done 
seemed to be quite out of the question. The only 
conclusion to be arrived at was expressed by the 
three Swedish words "han forvander synen," "he 
perverts the eyesight." These were golden days for 
conjurers, courted and petted as they were by the 
elite, held in awe by the common people, and patron- 
ized by all. 

At eleven years of age, Balabrega came to America 
and soon mastered the difficulties of the English 
language. Purchasing a large book on Magic, he 
commenced practicing, which he kept up for a num- 
ber of years, becoming a skillful manipulator in 
sleight-of-hand. From amusing evening parties at 



18 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

home he soon began to give little entertainments at 
the hall of the Swedish Society, in Brooklyn. Here 
he again met his old friend LeTort, who was thor- 
oughly disgusted with American modes of doing 
business. Why/' said he, " here I have to cover 
the side of every house or fence with flaming 
posters; in Sweden I have only to say to some old 
woman, ' LeTort is coming to town, don't tell any- 
one,' and in twenty-four hours the town is adver- 
tised; and when I show, it is to a full house ; I am 
going back to Sweden." He did and died there. 

From entertaining friends at home and in the 
Swedish hall, it was but a step for Balabrega to branch 
out as a young professor. As the "Boy Magician," 
he opened at the Olympic Theatre on Broadway, 
New York. He was so successful in his first engage- 
ment that he was soon called to Philadelphia, Bos- 
ton, and other cities. His career since then has been 
one of steady progress, until he is now one of 
the leaders in the profession. For the last few years 
he has been touring South America, assisted by his 
skillful wife. No American performers have created 
such a sensation in foreign countries as have the 
Professor and the clever Mrs. Balabrega in the Span- 
ish-speaking countries. They were the first to intro- 
duce there the Second Sight Act in the Spanish lan- 
guage. They have had many remarkable experi- 
ences, perhaps the most striking and expensive of 
which w^as the loss of their entire outfit, which went 
to the bottom of the sea in the Straits of Magellan, 
in the ill-fated steamer, Cotopaxi. This was a hard 
blow, but, with the irrepressible energy peculiar to 



AMERICAN CONJURERS. 



19 



most conjurers, he was soon on his feet again, and 
has just left the United States for another extended 
tour of those countries, where doubtless they will 
again duplicate their success. 

One of the prominent performers of our country 
who has achieved distinction abroad in his line is 
M. Hartz, at present traveling in Europe. Some of 
my readers may remember him as having been the 
partner of Mr. Levy, the firm being Hartz & Levy. 
These gentlemen were the first to open an establish- 
ment of any prominence in New York City for the 
sale of conjuring apparatus, and for a time met with 
good success. Finally Levy went into other busi- 
ness, and Hartz adopted conjuring for a livelihood, 
traveling for a number of years through the States, 
showing some very excellent illusions and displaying 
considerable skill. Of late years he has made a 
sensation in his line throughout Great Britain and 
Europe. In these countries he has had more pros- 
perity than he secured in the United States, as his 
skill is more appreciated there than here. Had he 
the address of such performers as Heller, Seeman, 
and Balabrega, he would have succeeded better at 
home, because here skill will not alone carry a per- 
son through. It must be combined with good 
address, and especially with a command of language. 
These are qualities that few conjurers possess. Both 
these are a sure forerunner of success for the magi- 
cian. 

Another conjurer who has made quite a mark in 
Europe is Carl Hertz. He was originally from San 
Francisco, and for a number of years played in side 



20 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

shows and variety theatres through the States, 
finally crossing the Atlantic, where his style of per- 
formance " caught on " better than here. 

Another conjurer, at present making a hit in the 
Music Halls of London, is Imro Fox, who, although 
a German, has resided long enough in the United 
States to be called an American. While he has 
nothing particularly new in his programme, he has 
such an original and comical way of introducing his 
tricks, that he succeeds where all others would fail. 
There are few professionals who can crowd such a 
variety of skillful illusions into such a short time as 
he. 

A professor who had quite a long experience in 
side shows and museums is William Robinson, who 
was known as " The Man of Mystery." He is at 
present assistant to Alexander Herrmann. While 
showing on his own account, he owed much of his 
success to his wife, and their act of the self-rising 
aerial suspension has never been excelled. 

Another magician by the name of Robinson has 
been traveling in the Western States for the past 
few years, but is going under the professional name 
of Zanzic. Being a clever performer, it would seem 
he ought to have originated a more healthful-sound- 
ing name, which is sick'led o'er with a pale cast of 
thought." 

The leading conjurer of the Pacific Coast is 
Prof. Zamloch, who travels continually through the 
extreme Western States and Territories. He is a 
skillful, painstaking performer, not dwelling so much 



AMERICAN CONJURERS. 



21 



on sleight-of-hand as on neat ways of using appa- 
ratus. He is very popular. 

Undoubtedly the oldest professor of magic in the 
States is Charles F. Fillebrown, of Salem, Mass. The 
senior Mr. Chase, of Boston, a celebrated maker of 
conjuring apparatus, made tricks for Prof. Fille- 
brown over forty years ago. Very few men living 
have had an experience of half a century in the 
magic circle. A Talking Skull was once sent to 
Prof. Fihebrown neatly packed in a large pail. 

It was received by his good-wife from the express- 
man, who, thinking some of her kind friends had sent 
her some butter, at once proceeded to open the 
package. The reader can imagine her surprise when 
instead of butter she saw a skull staring her in the 
face. 

Two magicians very well known in most of the 
Eastern States, are the Powell Brothers — F. Eugene 
Powell and Lloyd Powell, of Chester, Pa. They 
give a refined entertainment, showing much skill 
in the introduction of conjuring feats, spiritualistic 
phenomena, and second-sight, introducing these 
under the name of " Powell's Wonders." An 
admirer of theirs describes their extensive knowledge 
in the following acrostic : 

" Portentous signs at Magic's strange command; 
Occult, mysterious, spring from earth and air. 
Wonders come forth from Physic's wonder-land; 
Ethereal spirits, 'neath the master's hand, 
Lavish their secret treasures, rich and rare. 
Like springs from unlike; Alchemy 's surpassed; 
Spontaneous Combustion 's found at last. 



22 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

" Weird powers of darkness, from Mephisto's Chest, 
O'ermastering nature set the captive free; 
Nectar from Memory's cup, by Pallas blest, 
Delights the mind, while, to the ear addressed, 
Klysian echoes speak of mystery. 
Rapt seers see all things, though with shrouded eyes; 
Strange Second-sight, bewildering surprise." 

In contrast to this production are the following 
lines, copied from the advertising dodger of a 
country conjurer, who, by the way, said that he 
valued it very highly as it had taken three years of 
thought to make it perfect. It is given just as he 
used it : 

"Come Gentlemen and Ladies all, 
Come Lads and Lassies, great and small, 
And see yourselves the Dancing Stand, 
And Bird Cage vanish from the Hand." 

Included among many other performers who have 
played most of their engagements in variety theatres 
are Koltair, Morphet, Yerona, C. T. Taylor, Dr. 
Alex. Davis, Will B. Wood, Clever Carroll, Marvelle, 
Haviland, Yertelli, the Lees and Rohss. The majority 
of these are using their best endeavors to cut loose 
from the variety stage and travel with their own 
entertainments, and a number of them have suc- 
ceeded in doing so. Yerona is also known as a 
''King of Fire;" he was for some time associated 
with Earnello, also a 'Tire King." These two have, 
no doubt, introduced the best act of eating fire. It 
was an easy step for them to take up magic, which 
Yerona did some years ago, his leading attraction 
being the self-rising aerial suspension. Barnello is, 
however, only just now commencing the conjuring 



AMERICAN CONJURERS. 



23 



business. The special attraction of the Lees, is their 
introduction of Miss Bessie (Mrs. Lee) in their 
"Arabian Night's Dream," which is the self-rising 
aerial suspension. This apparatus is now used by 
quite a number of professionals, but none of them 
have been able to surpass the Lees, in their hand- 
some costumes and tableaux. The ease and grace of 
Mrs. Lee in the act are quite remarkable, and fully 
bear out all the great praise bestowed on her. This 
same illusion is also the leading attraction of Prof. 
Rohss, who is also ably assisted by his vivacious 
little wife. 

A young performer who, considering the time 
he has been before the public, has made quite a suc- 
cess, is Elmer P. Ransom, of Brooklyn. He made 
his first appearance at Tony Pastor's Theatre, where 
he scored a hit at once. Like a good many other 
young men, who owe their advancement to the 
genial " Tony," he is very grateful to him. He is 
using very little apparatus, but makes it up in skill 
and attractive language, known to the profession as 
"patter." 

A young gentleman who is making a very envia- 
ble record as a prestidigitateur is Mr. John W. Little, 
of New York. It has been but comparatively a short 
time since he commenced his magical career, and it 
bids fair to be a successful one. He shows much 
more originality than the average professor, par- 
ticularly is this noticeable in his excellent "patter" 
and skillful sleight-of-hand tricks. He presents a very 
interesting programme and invariably succeed^ in 
making his audience enthusiastic. He also displays 



24 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

much skill as a "Lightning Caricaturist," thus 
making his programme doubly attractive. 

A clever conjurer who was prominent in most of 
the Eastern cities some ten years ago, was Kobert 
Nickle, the only magician who played in the Cen- 
tennial Exhibition, at Philadelphia, where he had a 
prominent position for the display of his skill in the 
art. "While his repertoire was not a large one, he 
showed considerable skill in the feats he introduced. 
Had it not been for his convivial habits, he would no 
doubt have enjoyed a much greater popularity. Sad 
to relate, he had become so addicted to the flowing 
bowl that it finally caused his death, and he was 
laid away in a potter's field at Washington. 

One of his co-laborers of late years, Avas a Mr. 
Harrington. This man has had such a variety of 
names that it is almost impossible to keep track of 
him. His favorite ones have been Wyman, Way- 
man, LaFayette and Blitz. 

A performer not unknown to fame, though some- 
what a stranger to the public at large, is one who 
calls himself " Canaris, the Greek Conjurer." He 
started out from Boston some years ago and traveled 
across our continent, where he met with but meagre 
encouragement. He displayed no particular talent 
nor genius in his tricks. After playing through to 
the Pacific Coast, he went out to Isew Zealand and 
Australia, where he met with much less success than 
he did here. He has himself to blame for his ill 
fortune in those coantries, principally from the rea- 
son that he billed very extensively to produce the 
Cocoon and the Vanishing Lady, but failed to ful- 



AMERICAN GONJUUEKS. 



25 



fill his promise as to either of them. Audiences 
will not tolerate anything like that, no\v-a-days. 
From Robert Kudarz, of New Zealand, we have 
received a published criticism on the appearance of 
Prof. Canaris at Sydney. It is a severe arraign- 
ment: 

" The time for vengeance will come. As we write, 
the small boy is growing, who, when he is big 
enough, will rush the show of Professor ' Canaris,' 
at Sydney Academy, and shove that abject Greek 
frost off the stage, and the brick is being baked 
which will be thrown at an early date right through 
the 'Shadowgraph.' In the course of a troubled 
existence we have met with many palsied horrors 
ending with ' graph,' but never before did we en- 
counter so appalling a graph as this. It consisted 
of a damp tablecloth with a light behind it, and two 
painfully conspicuous boys, without any coats on, 
moving figures of horses, goats, pigs, etc., across 
this plain and ordinary scene. A naval conflict was 
shown, in which a sailing vessel of no particular rig 
and with six yards on each mast was knocked about 
by a steamer. One of the boys apparently lit a 
match at intervals and uttered a whoop to represent 
the artillery, and ultimately both vessels went 
down. The steamer, however, promptly came up 
again and sailed away with one end sticking up in 
the air. The sad old Davenport Brothers' show was 
also exhibited, and a * committee' of four went up 
on the stage to see that all was fair. An astonished 
old gentleman, with a look of simple bewilderment 
spread all over his head, formed a part of this body, 



26 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIE WORKS. 

and the other members were evidently the twin 
brothers of the gentlemen who used to go into a 
trance at the Opera House in the days of Professor 
Kennedy, and eat soap, and find half-a-pound of 
flour in their hats, and pursue visionary rats with 
brooms and other implements. The Professor got 
his dress-suit badly crushed in his struggles to free 
himself from his fastenings, and if he does the cabi- 
net trick often he will have to buy new clothes or 
else go around in a petticoat. 

"The last part of the show was advertised to con- 
sist of ' Ancient and Modern ]N"ecromancy,' embrac- 
ing six imposing items : ' The Pacific on the Stage ; 
A Terrible Massacre ; Egyptian l^ecromancy ; The 
Terrible Flood,' and two others equally large and 
pompous ; but they all finally resolved themselves 
into the old, shattered, broken-down joke of extract- 
ing 100 yards of ribbon out of a borrowed hat. A 
young-lady assistant in male attire stood on the 
stage and looked on without shifting from one leg 
to the other more than twice in ten minutes, but at 
last the flying G-reek made an observation in a low 
tone, and she fled and didn't come back. Probably 
he remarked 'get out!' in the melodious Athenian 
language, but this is only conjecture." 

Henry WilUo was born in Cologne, on the Rhine, 
in 1846. At the age of 12 years he developed a 
talent for the sorcerer's art, and became a magician 
and prestidigitator. When but 18 years old he had 
become so deft at deception that he sought the 
broad world in which to practice his arts of necro- 
mancy, and made his way to London. There be 



AMERICAN CONJURERS. 



27 



soon married a woman named Marion Cook, and for 
some years held the boards at the London theatres 
as a magician. In August, 1871, the Kiralfy Broth- 
ers found him there and brought him to New York 
with them. He filled several engagements at the 
Olympic Theatre, and later was with Tony Pastor 
in his pantomime. In 1866 a child was added to 
his family, and five years later another. Both were 
girls, the oldest being named Ellis Hannah, and the 
second Mabel Lillian. 

On the eighteenth of January, 1874, the magician 
with his family left New York with a company of 
actors, and went to the West Indies. They gave 
exhibitions about the islands, and in December of 
the same year found themselves stranded in Jamaica, 
when the members of the company started out to shift 
for themselves, each regardless of the fate of the 
others. With some it was an easy matter to stroll 
about and pick up a meagre subsistence, but with 
the magician it was not so. He had his wife and 
family to care for and he must earn them food and 
shelter. He bade them good-by and started out to 
find work. He journeyed to Aspinwall and to the 
Isthmus of Panama, where he was prostrated with the 
yellow-fever and for seven months lingered betvv^een 
life and death. At last he recovered sufficientlv to 
be able to travel, and made his way back to Jamaica, 
where he had left his wife in a delicate condition 
among strangers who had no benevolence toward 
foreigners. All his inquiries brought the same 
response. The people remembered that his wife 
had died while giving birth to a child, and that 



28 MODEEN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

her death had been hastened by the news from the 
Isthmus of Panama that Wiliio, the magician, had 
died of yellow fever. The wife and child had been 
buried in the potter's field, and the people remem- 
bered that a variety actress named Effie Johns had 
happened along and had taken the two children with 
her to Havana, Cuba. Thither the sorrowing father 
journeyed, only to find that Effie Johns had left 
Havana for New York. 

The magician could not bring his arts to bear in 
the long and tiresome search for his children. He 
visited New York and traveled through all the prin- 
cipal cities of America, always inquiring for his 
children. Back to the West Indies and through 
Venezuela and the United States of Columbia he 
went, giving exhibitions at different cities to enable 
him to continue the search. He had obtained a 
slight trace of his lost children in New York, where 
a man had told him that Mile. Lola, a trapeze per- 
former, had been seen with two children in her com- 
pany answering the description he gave of the little 
ones. There remained but one thing to do, and that 
was to find Mile. Lola. Her address was published 
in the dramatic papers, and every week the magi- 
cian wrote to her and received no response. At 
last he arrived in San Francisco and there met Effie 
Johns in 1880. She informed him that when about 
to take the steamer from Havana for ISTew York, 
Mile. Lola had asked her for the children and she 
had relinquished them. She had not seen her since 
that time, but thought that some trace of her might 
be gained by communicating with her mother, Mrs. 



AMERICAN- CONJURERS. 



29 



John Farshal, at Eochester, N. Y. He wrote to 
Mrs. Parshal, but received no answer. Disheartened 
but not discouraged the magician again took up the 
search and traveled through Oregon, Washington 
Territory, and the entire Northwest with no better 
success. By dint of tireless inquiry he learned that 
Mile. Lola had been seen at Atchison, Kans., and had 
two little girls with her. He wrote to her there, 
and after many days of weary waiting his letter was 
returned to him with the words "not known" writ- 
ten on the outside of the envelope. On examining 
the returned letter the magician found that it had 
been opened and deftly sealed again. He now 
became assured that some one was trying to keep his 
children from him. He went to Atchison and 
learned that Mile. Lola had lived there for some 
time, and that she had suddenly left for the Black 
Hills. He went to the Black Hills only to find that 
she had gone to Mexico some few days previous to 
his arrival. He was nearer now to the object of his 
search than he had ever been before, and the hours 
seemed long as he rode southward to find his lost 
children. At El Paso, Tex., he was obliged to 
stop and give an exhibition to get money to 
carry him farther, and while there received a letter 
from Effie Johns, saying that his eldest daughter had 
appeared as a variety star, and that her stage name 
was " Little Pearl." He also heard in El Paso that 
Mile. Lola was traveling in Mexico with the Orrin 
Bros.' circus, doing trapeze business. He wrote a 
letter to the address of " Little Pearl " and sent it in 
the care of a dramatic paper to New York. He 



30 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

received an answer to this letter which did not have 
the effect to make him very happy. " Little Pearl " 
was still his daughter, but she had eloped with a 
man named William Ackerman and had married him 
in San Francisco. He must still look for his baby 
daughter, and for more than two years he traveled 
through Mexico, never succeeding in finding Mile. 
Lola, who, if she did not have his child, must possess 
some knowledge of where she could be found. 

Back toward New York the magician journeyed, 
and while stopping at Cincinnati in the early part of 
February, 1887, learned through the dramatic papers 
that Mile. Lola was in Chicago. He lost no time in 
coming to this city, and after a few days' search, 
lookino: throuofh hotels where the artful Lola had 
given false addresses, he succeeded in locating her 
at Spring Yalley, Wis., where she was giving a 
performance with what was known as Lola's Gypsy 
Company. He caused her arrest, and, threatening 
her with prosecution for kidnapping his daughter, 
she told him that Mabel Lillian was in Eochester, 
N. Y., where she was attending an industrial school 
for girls. The magician had at last found his child 
and sought out Officer Dudley of the Illinois Humane 
Society, who listened to his story with sympathy, 

" We will restore your daughter to you," said Mr. 
Dudley, "and if you write a letter to her I will 
inclose another to the officials of the institution." 
This advice the magician followed, and in a few 
days received the following : 



American conjurers. 



81 



No. 133 Exchange Street, Rochester, N. Y., March 4, 
1887. — Bear Papa: Is it possible that my dear father lives? 
This is indeed a resurrection to me. It seems like a dream from 
which I will awake only to find myself again desolate and an 
orphan. I have been praying for a good home to open its doors 
to me, little expecting that my prayers were to be answered. I 
can hardly wait to see you and my darling sister. I was lame for 
a long time, but the kind care I have had here has cured me 
entirely. Miss Hamilton has been like a mother ever since I 
came. Can you come next w^eek? I will tell you everything 
when I see you. I am very happy now that I have a dear father 
and sister to love me. I will now close with a thousand kisses 
and my best love to you and dear sister. Your daughter, 

Mabel Lillian Willio. 

"If ye shall ask anything in my name, 1 will do it." — 
John, IJfth chapter, 14th verse. 

The letter was written in a neat, round hand, and 
the father could hardly believe his senses. He 
showed the communication to Officer Dudley and 
could not refrain from weeping. Mr. Dudley had 
also received a letter from the ofRcials of the 
school. They demanded that the character of the 
father be vouched for by some responsible person 
and his identity established before they would 
consent to surrender the child. Mr. Dudley 
looked into the honest face of the magician and 
said : I think I can have no hesitancy in vouching 
for the character of a man who will travel seven 
times across the continent to find his children. Mr. 
Willio, I will myself become your surety." The 
necessary guaranty was forwarded to Rochester and 
an early train brought the young lady to Chicago. 
She is a prepossessing blonde of 16, and is highly 
educated and refined, as her letter shows. She 



32 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

relates her story with fascinating emphasis while 
she tosses back the profusion of wav^y blonde hair 
that falls about her forehead. 

" 1 don't remember very much,'- said she, " about 
what occurred in Jamaica, for you know I was only 
4 years old then. But I do remember about 
mother's death and of getting on board a steamer 
going to New York. On that journey the crew 
mutinied and the Captain walked the deck with a 
pistol in each hand, making them obey his orders. I 
think the vessel must have been sinking then, for 
guns were fired and were answered by a Spanish 
man-of-war, who took us on board just before the 
vessel went down. I know that Elfie Johns gave us 
to Mile. Lola and I was left in New York with Mr. 
and Mrs. Dr. Burnham. While there I fell down 
stairs and sprained my ankle, and in a short time 
Mrs. Parshal took me to Rochester, N. Y. My sis- 
ter traveled with Mrs. Parshal's two daughters, Lola 
and Jeannette, who are trapeze performers. I went 
to the industrial school in Rochester, where they 
taught me everything. They were very kind to me 
there, especially a Miss Hamilton, who took a great 
interest in me. Well, I'm glad I found my father, 
anyhow, and, some way or other, I always thought 
he was alive, and prayed for him every night." 

" Yes, daughter, I know you did," said the magi- 
cian, as he took the child's hand, and the two walked 
silently away. * 

* Truth is indeed stranger than fiction, and, although at the time 
put to great inconvenience, we have the satisfaction of knowing that we 
were the means of Professor Willio's finding his long lost daughter, and 
of re-uniting a family. Prof. Willio has proved himself very grateful 
for the assistance rendered him and waich enabled him to go again on 
the road in a manner befitting his capabilities. 



I 



AMERICAN CONJUREES. 



33 



In his favorite tricks and manipulations of cards, 
coins and other small objects there is now no person 
traveling who is the superior of Prof. Willio, 
Shortly after finding his daughter, he started on an 
extensive tour through Mexico and South America, 
and when last heard from was in Peru. 

A clever artist in conjuring, and who formerly 
traveled considerably in our country, is Mr. Henry 
Hatton, of New York and Brooklyn, where at pres- 
ent his services are in very good demand for enter- 
taining evening parties and societies. He is favora- 
bly known from his interesting article on second- 
sight and conjuring published some years ago in 
Scribner's Magazine. 

A skillful performer of late years, particularly 
with cards and small objects, and who started out 
with every prospect of a good future before him, was 
Goldberg, of New York. He was a very peculiar 
individual and became possessed with the idea that 
no person could do the feats he did ; this belief of 
his is perhaps better expressed in the \vords of an 
Eastern correspondent : 

''There has just died in this city, a man who 
fixedly believed that he was the devil. His na,me 
was Goldberg, and he was a performer of sleights. 
He was a magician, according to both his show bills 
and his own conceit. He had a marvelous dexterity 
in the deceptive handling of cards, and his tricks 
with them were far better than those of any of the 
more celebrated showmen whom T have ever seen ; 
but he was not equally expert in devising or hand- 
ling such mechanism as made the fame of Anderson, 



34 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



the wizard, nor was he the entertaining talker which 
we remembered Heller to have been. The conse- 
quence was that Goldberg gained little prosperity 
and remained a mere card manipulator until his 
mental vagaries brought him to a lunatic asylum. I 
remember that, du)-ing the last summer in which 
he was sufficiently sane to be left at large, he gave 
exhibitions in the hotel parlors at country resorts. 

While at Long Branch the gamblers who run the 
great hells there became acquainted with Goldberg's 
sleight-of-hand abilities. I^one of them, however, 
though they were in the dishonest manipulation 
of cards, could either imitate or understand the 
tricks which he showed them. Charley Reed, mana- 
ger of one of the club houses, took him aside and 
said to him: "Goldberg, how much did you make 
out of the show you gave in the Ocean House parlor 
to-day?" "Oh, the collection amounted to $16, 
about," was the reply. " You ought to be ashamed of 
it," the gambler retorted. " What's the use of run- 
ning yourself in a sort of pass-the-hat show when you 
could turn your talent to more profitable account? 
Now, I'll give you $200 cash down if you'll teach 
me to do that trick with the four aces." "I 
couldn't," was the sober reply, " if you paid me two 
millions. I don't know how to do it." The truth 
was that the trick, which consisted in dealing four 
aces at will from an apparently well-shuffled pack, 
depended chiefly on that dexterous handling of the 
cards called palming, but the demented Goldberg 
was convinced that, being himself the personal devil, 
it was purely supernatural. All the while that he 



AMERICAN C0NJURP:RS. 



35 



was practicing the most delicate and deceptive 
manipulation he was unaware that the results were 
obtained by trickery and skill. This was a most 
peculiar phase of mania." 

This chapter would be incomplete without par- 
ticular mention of the " Only Boy Magician." This 
is Master Eddie Abbott, just past six years of age. 
Eddie's home was at Millville, N. J., where his 
father was engaged as a fine worker in cut glass. 
He discovered his boy's talent, and, under the 
instructions of others, commenced teaching him all 
that could be taught one so young. It was not long 
before Eddie acquired such a proficiency that his 
professional tours commenced. His first one was 
through the interior towns near Philadelphia. Then 
he played to crowded houses at the Academy of 
Music and at the Carncross Theatre, in that city, 
besides giving many performances in private houses, 
notably in John Wanamaker's and George W. 
Childs'. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 
to Children would not permit him to play in J^ew 
York City. 

Eddie's next exhibitions were given in Quebec, 
where, on the start, he was not well received because 
he could not speak French, but in a few days he 
had learned it well enough to deliver bis little 
speeches in that language, and thereafter achieved 
great success. Our illustration shows him introduc- 
ing his Talking Skull. He is very pretcy in face, 
tiny in form and attractive in manner. He well 
deserves the warm words of praise the press has 
bestowed on him. He treads the stage like a vet- 



36 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



eran, and performs remarkable tricks in magic with 
the greatest ease and with the most captivating sang- 
froid. One look- 
ing at him can 
scarcely realize 
that he is but a 
child. The first 
part of his pro- 
gramme is de- 
voted to the cus- 
tomary feats of 
conjuring, which 
are faultlessly ex- 
ecuted. The sec- 
ond part is usually 
the introduction 
of the mysterious 
" Egyptian Black 
Art," in which, 
dressed in white, 
he suddenly ap- 

EDDIE ABBOTT AND HIS TALKING pCarS iu the Hlidst 

SKULL. of the blackness 

on the stage, while tables, vases, flowers, rabbits, 
doves and other thino^s move throuo:h the air, at his 
word of command, in a most mysterious manner. 
Master Eddie wins the hearts of his audiences. 
Should he continue in the profession he will undoubt- 
edly reach the top round of the ladder. 

The first foreign conjurer of prominence who 
visited our shores was Herr Alexandre, a skillful 
performer, who came to New York about 1845. 




AMERICAN CONJURERS. 



37 



Assisted by his daughter Bertha he introduced the 
second-sight mystery, with which he obtained suc- 
cess. His daughter dying suddenly stopped his 
career among us, as he returned at once to Europe. 
He was followed by Macallister, the Scotch con- 
jurer, who in turn was followed by the renowned 
"Wizard of the North," Anderson. Then came 
Signor Blitz, whose interesting book, " Fifty Years 
in the Magic Circle," has had many readers. Our 
next visitor was Heller, who made his home with us. 
The American stage has never seen such a witty, 
clever and skillful entertainer as Heller was. His 
greatest success was made with second-sight, in 
which he was assisted by his sister, Zaidee Heller. 
On his first poster were the words : 

" Shakespeare wrote well, 
Dickens wrote Weller ; 

Anderson was , 

But the greatest is Heller." 

Heller made considerable money, was the prince 
of entertainers, but, sad to say, died poor. With 
him commenced what might be called the beginning 
of the conjurer's art in America. Blitz had only 
been a short time in this country when he found he 
had more than a dozen mediocre imitators all travel- 
ing under his name, and even Heller has been fol- 
lowed by a score or more who have used his 
name. 



CHAPTER III. 



PROMINENT CONJURERS ABROAD. 

John Nevil Maskelyne— Dr. Holden— Dr. Lyna— Robert Kudarz 
— Buatier de Kolta — The Bamberg and Basch Families — 
Jacoby-Harms— German and French Conj urers— Prof . Patrizlo 
— Prof. Hartwig Seeman. 

Of foreign conjarers, those of the British Isle first 
demand our attention because "they are English, 
you know." Probably the most prominent among 
them is J. ISTevil Maskelyne, whose long career as a 
public entertainer in London has brought him very 
prominently before the public. Having occupied the 
Egyptian Hall, "England's Home of Mystery," for 
a great many years, he has been so situated, with all 
conveniences at his command, that he has been able 
to produce a large number of fine optical illusions, 
which even now remain the principal feature of his 
entertainments. His cabinet, his automatons. Psy- 
cho, Zoe, Labial and Fanfare, are never-failing 
sources of interest and wonder. In the display of 
mechanical skill, he has fully rivaled the renowned 
Robert Houdin. Mr. Maskelyne is a very genial 
gentleman, and his manners are such as to command 
respect and attention. 

One of the most clever conjurers in England now 

33 



PEOMINENT CONJURERS ABROAD. 



39 



is the Queen's Magician," whose peculiar boast is 
that he is the only conjurer whom. Queen Victoria 
ever asked to repeat a trick. Dr. Holden's reper- 
toire consists mainly in tricks requiring considerable 
skill and very little apparatus, and in this particular 
branch he has scored quite a success, possessing a 
great deal of ready wit and any amount of self-con- 
fidence, both of which are necessary to a successful 
magician. He has proved himself an interesting 
conjurer and *'A magician in spite of himself." 

A popular English conjurer that we do not hear 
much about, now-a-days, is Dr. Lynn. Some of his 
friends claim him as an American, and that his real 
name is not such a striking one. He is the same 
Doctor for whom the inimitable Artemus Ward 
wrote a wonderful programme. Dr. Lynn is popu- 
larly known as The Talky Talky Man," and is 
always telling his audience just how he does it, and 
yet they never know. His principal feat of late 
years was the introduction of the handsome illusion 
known as " Thauma." 

Under the head of English Conjurers, should be 
mentioned Robert Kudarz. Although his field of 
operation is in the Australian Colonies, where he 
enjoys a well deserved reputation, some American 
readers will understand his programme pretty well, 
when they know that it is modeled on the plan of 
that of Harry Kellar. Prof. Kudarz makes his home 
at Wellington, New Zealand. In addition to his mag- 
ical performances, he adds tricks of the Anti-Spiritu- 
alistic order, his wife being his valuable assistant. He 
obtained considerable renown from being one of the 



40 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

first to introduce in that far away country the now 
well known trick of the Vanishing Lady. He well 
remembers what a hard time he had in getting her 
out there, as she went astray in San Francisco, where 
some would-be-intelligent railroad official consigned 
her to a storage warehouse, where she remained in 
"durance vile" for nearly six months. This accom- 
plished official, receiving notice that he would have 
a burden on his hands if he kept her there longer, 
finally started her on her long voyage across the 
Pacific Ocean to the Professor, who, although her 
coming was somewhat late, received her with open 
arms, and succeeded in adding much to his reputa- 
tion when she made her debut. 

While not coming under the head of English con- 
jurers, the Hungarian performer, Buatier, has become 
very popular in the last few years, owing to his tours 
in England. ISTot long ago, he joined hands with Mr. 
Maskelyne, of London, for the purpose of availing 
himself of the mechanical ingenuity of the latter 
in developing some of his stage illusions, at least 
three of which were patented in England. He enjoys 
a great reputation for skill in sleight-of-hand, and is 
credited with introducing a number of very fine and 
effective tricks, that may be classed under the head 
of " parlor magic/' as most of them are suitable for 
parlors and small stages. He has, no doubt, received 
much commendation to which he is not justly 
entitled, because of his first introducing tricks in 
England, the knowledge of which he had obtained on 
the continent. The writer saw tricks offered for sale 
by continental manufacturers of conjuring apparatus, 



PROMINENT CONJURERS ABROAD. 



41 



fifteen to twenty years ago, that were afterwards 
introduced into England for the first time by Prof. 
Buatier. He thereby obtained the undeserved repu- 
tation of being the originator of them. He also 
received the unmerited credit of being the inventor 
of " Black Art," for which he took out a patent in 
England, after he had first seen it performed in Ber- 
lin, in a much more complete manner than it was 
introduced by himself. However, it is not to be 
denied that he possesses great skill. Some time 
ago it was rumored that he intended coming to 
America. 

In this connection it may be well to say that for- 
eign professionals, especially those in England, who 
are credited with a great amount of skill and ingenu- 
ity, have not prospered in America. By this is 
meant that they have not made the "tremendous 
hit," or "screaming success" which they expected 
to make, when they came across the "Big Ferry." 
It not only takes skill, but also management, to 
gather in the " shekels " on this side of the water. 
This simply proves that the major part of the clever 
performers in the United States are farther advanced 
in the mysteries of conjuring than the majority of 
foreigners are willing to admit. In confirmation of 
this, we have only to look at the unlimited praise 
bestowed on Prof. Hartz, and the California boy, 
Carl Hertz, both of whom stirred up the conjurers 
on the other side to a great extent, although there 
are many fully their equals here, if not their 
superiors, especially of the latter, whose success with 
us was only a moderate one. 



42 MODERN MAGICIA.NS AND THEIR WORKS. 



Passing from England to the continent, across the 
stormy North Sea, and landing on the dyke-guarded 
shores of Holland, we find two families of conjurers 
living in the hearts of the people, and known as 
the Basch and Bamberg families. David T. Bam- 
berg, son of the original " Old Bamberg," who was 
the contemporary of Houdin, is living at Amster- 
dam, having retired from the profession, and is 
known as the " Cabinet Maker to his Majesty, The 
King." Perhaps the most popular conjurer of 
recent years in that country was Prof. Basch, who 
amassed a competency in a few years. It can be 
said, greatly to his credit, that no trick, if good, was 
too dear for him. His outfit contained all the most 
modern and original effects he could procure. 
His programme Avas divided into three parts ; 
first, original feats in conjuring, in which he dis- 
played much skill, attempting successfully tricks 
that would astonish many professionals. His 
second part was sometimes an exhibition of the 
Enchanted Fountain, or the production of the 
Ghost Show. This he had developed to a great 
degree, making use of many characters ; and any 
person who has seen his spectral illusion of An 
Artist's Tour Around the World" will not soon for- 
get it. His third part usually consisted in showing 
a fine selection of high-class dissolving views. As a 
hint to American conjurers, we would say that Prof. 
Basch has very often played from one to two weeks 
in a town of twenty thousand inhabitants. How 
many conjurers in America have a repertoire sufii- 
cient to do that ? 



PROMINENT CONJURERS ABROAD. 



43 



Leaving the flowery meadows of Holland, so 
noted for their wonderful hyacinths, tulips and cro- 
cuses, we pass into the fair country of Belgium, and 
stop at its beautiful capital, Brussels. Here, for a 
number of years, resided Prof. DeYere, who has 
enjoyed quite a continental reputation. Of late he 
has traveled extensively, exposing spiritualistic pre- 
tensions. This gentleman once carried on the busi- 
ness of making conjuring apparatus in London. 

Leaving the " Frenchified " Belgians, it is but a 
step across the Rhine into Germany. Here we find 
so many clever conjurers that we hardly know which 
way to turn. Stopping for a moment at the pictur- 
esque old city of Nuremberg, we find one of the 
oldest manufacturers of conjuring apparatus, who, 
for a great many years, has carried on the leading 
business in manufacturing boxes of conjuring tricks. 
It may be news to American readers, that nearly all 
of these have been exported to France, where they 
are sold as being of French production. 

Prof. Jacoby-Harms not only has exhibited great 
skill in his spectral illusions, but has also shown him- 
self to be a gentleman of considerable literary abil- 
ity. He has published several interesting works on 
the mystic art. His entertaining volume of " Zau- 
ber-Soiree" is not only interesting, but displays 
much care in its preparation. The attractive feature 
of the book is its photographs, which are indeed fine 
works of art."^ These photographs were taken by 

* On the opposite page is shown a reduced photo-lithograph of one 
of them, which represents him in his rope-tying act on the stage, just 
as the spirits are supposed to have untied him. 



44 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



means of the electric light. In his rope-tying 
maneuvers he probably has no superior. His pro- 
gramme consists usually of the finest feats in magic, 





HOW THE SPIRITS UNTIE JACOBY. 

anti-spiritualistic effects, and spectral illusions. In 
the first part he makes use of all his ingenuity in 



PROMINENT CONJURERS ABROAD. 



45 



getting up devices for using flower and bird tricks, 
realizing that these prove the most attractive, 
thereby gaining the sympathies and good will of the 
fair sex. 

Perhaps the men who have contributed the most 
toward the success of professional conjurers in 
Germany, have been the prominent manufacturers 
of conjuring apparatus — M. Hermann, of Berlin, and 
Oscar Lischke and Carl Willmann, of Hamburg. All 
three have been in the professional manufacturmg 
line for a good many years, and many effects pro- 
duced by them have been shown by conjurers as 
being of their own invention. 

A couple of clever performers who are not 
unknown in the United States, should not be 
forgotten ; these are Messrs, Thorn and Darvin, who 
made quite an extended tour in this country a few 
years ago. Of late, their professional tours have 
taken them through Germany, Russia, Austria and 
other continental countries. Their leading sen- 
sational feat during the last year has been that of 
causing the instantaneous disappearance of a live 
horse, which is accomplished through that mysteri- 
ous medium called Black Art." 

Casting our eyes toward France, we find the most 
prominent conjurer is Prof. Cazeneuve. This 
gentleman, some time ago, made a very successful 
tour through the United States. Unable to speak 
the English language, he was, probably, the first 
one to make use of an interpreter on the stage, who 
translated the "patter" of the professor to the 
audience. While here he obtained much applause 



40 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

and admiration from the fair sex ; as he held their 
attention by means of the orange-growing trick, 
invented by Houdin, and also by an elaborate vari- 
ation of the coffee trick, serving both oranges and 
coffee to his audiences in unlimited quantities. Vor 
some years after his return to France he traveled 
through the provinces there, and is at present at 
Marseilles. 

Of late years the most prominent conjurers in 
France are Dickson, Jacobs, Duperrey, Carmelli and 
Anderson, all ol whom performed in Paris during 
the World's Exposition of 1889. Duperrey and 
Carmelli are extraordinarily skillful. While they 
have not introduced anything particularly new, they 
displayed that grace and elegance that only a 
Frenchman can. It is a pleasure to know that such 
clever performers are meeting with the success they 
deserve. Another prominent magician abroad is 
Patrizio. He also made a tour of the United States 
some years ago, but, owing to his lack of knowledge 
of the English language, did not meet with the 
success he deserved. There are few in the pro- 
fession who are as painstaking as he. For a 
number of years past he has been traveling through 
the West Indies and in South America, where he is 
quite a favorite. His repertoire is very extensive, 
comprising the "Ghost Show," and the finest of 
modern automata. 

Prof. Hart wig ^^eeman was born in Sweden on 
June 3, 1833. His father had been an officer in 
the Swedish army, and his ancestors had fought 
under the renowned conqueror, Gustavus Adolphus, 



PROMINEI^IT CONJURE.RS ABROAD. 



in Kussia, Finland, Germany, Turkey and France. 
Young Seeman had always shown a decided inclina- 
tion for ingenious mechanical effects, hence it is not 
to be w^ondered at that he became interested in 
magic. In 1859 we see him in Berhn, Germany, 
happily married, and well known as a prominent 
scenic artist, honored and popular in society. The 
proprietor of Victoria Theatre failed, and Seeman, 
receiving no money for his labors, was obliged to 
have recourse to his knowledge of magic. He had 
about a dozen small trick boxes which he had kept 
for his own and his friends' private amusement. 
Taking these, and with $30.00 in his pocket, he 
started out on a tour, but, owing to the poverty of 
his exchequer, and lack of knowledge in advertising, 
he lost instead of making money. This was in 1860. 
Shortly afterwards he obtained engagements in 
Hamburg, Copenhagen and Christiania. His salary 
was sufficient at the end of the year to enable him 
to increase his stock of conjuring apparatus. After 
a few successful tours in ]S"orway, he succeeded in 
saving some $6,000. With this capital, he made a 
bold move and crossed over from Phillipstad to 
London. There he leased the Egyptian Hall in Pic- 
cadilly, and occupied it for over one year and a half, 
giving his entertainments to crowded houses niglitly. 
After that he made a tour through the provinces, 
and visited all the leading cities and towns in Scot- 
land and Ireland. Returning to London, he trans- 
ferred the scene of his triumphs to the Crystal Pal- 
ace at Sydenham, and performed there for six 
months continuously. On the day when he took his 



48 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

farewell benefit, be performed before audiences of 
over forty thousand people, included among whom 
were no less than thirty -six members of royalty; the 
Shah of Persia, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge 
and the late Czar of Eussia, being among the num- 
ber. Seeman had not then determined what he 
would do next, and, while still hesitating, received a 
visit from an officer of a Roman Catholic Missionary 
Society in London, who proposed to him that he go 
out to the Cape of Good Hope for their society, and 
teach the natives how to perform some of his tricks, 
in order that the missionaries might be better able 
to contend against the Fetish men of the negro 
tribes. The offer was such a novel one that he at 
first hesitated, but, the terms being liberal, it was 
finally accepted. Embarking at Southampton, 
within five weeks he was landed at Cape Town. 
There he gave a series of performances which were 
largely attended by the natives. At the conclusion 
of each, he explained to a number of the most intel- 
ligent of them how the tricks were performed, and 
made them do them themselves, until they became 
thoroughly proficient, meantime explaining to them, 
through an interpreter, that the white man's God 
had nothing to do with the performing of the tricks ; 
and yet the tricks performed were much more diffi- 
cult than those their Fetish men could do, although 
they declared they were only able to perform them 
when inspired by their gods. 

Leaving Cape Town our Magician took passage to 
India, and on arrival there journeyed to the city of 



PROMINENT CONJURERS ABROAD. 



49 



Benares, the sacred city of Hindostan, for the pur- 
pose of studying the jugglery of the Fakirs. He 
remained there for some time, in the course of which 
he learned many East Indian feats of jugglery; 
which, as every modern conjurer knows, do not 
compare with the skilled feats of an accomplished 
conjurer of the present time. 

Leaving India, Prof. Seeman traveled directly to 
Vienna, where he performed during the Vienna 
World's Exposition of 1873, during the months of 
July and August. From there he returned to his 
native land, and while giving his exhibitions through 
Sweden he devoted all his leisure time to the solv- 
ing of the problem of suspension in mid-air without 
visible support. In February, 1880, after nearly 
eight years experimenting, which cost him a great 
deal of money, he found the problem no longer a 
mystery, having solved it. He received a number 
of offers from the United States, one of which he 
accepted, and on the twentieth of June, 1880, gave a 
private exhibition of his marvelous invention at the 
Academy of Music, Kew York City, to the members 
of the press and a select party of its invited guests. 
His success was beyond his highest expectations, 
and the press unitedly insisted that the invisible 
suspension of Miss Seeman was one of the most 
marvelous achievements of the conjurer's art. He 
made a number of tours through this country with 
great success, earning the commendation of being 
one of the most accomplished performers that have 
ever appeared here in his line. 



50 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

During his last tour through the Southwest, See- 
man, with his family, was obliged to remain over 
night in a train at Bremont, Texas. Here he con- 
tracted a severe cold, which resulted in inflammation 
of the lungs, from which he died the following day, 
March 25, 1886, at Kosse, in that State. In the 
death of Prof. Seeman the conjuring fraternity of 
the entire world suffered an irreparable loss. Few 
gentlemen have lived that have enjoyed such a repu- 
tation in his line as this superior and accomplished 
artist. His programme consisted usually of high 
class feats in conjuring, the introduction of automa- 
tons, and the exhibition of most excellent dissolving 
views, which were drawn and painted by himself. 
He invariably closed his programme with his marvel- 
ous suspension, the mechanism of which has puzzled 
the brains of thousands. While several other illu- 
sions similar to this of his have since been produced, 
no conjurers introducing them have succeeded in 
making such a success with costumes and tableaux 
as he did. His invention was protected by a patent 
in this country, the first one of its kind. Other 
patents on similar contrivances liave been taken out 
since, necessarily making use of the principle used 
in his. Two of these were by Mr. Will B. Wood; 
their numbers are 415,084 and 415,085; and, as all 
drawings of patents are common property of the 
people at large, any person who feels sufficient 
interest in the mechanism to know how it is done, 
can, by sending twenty-five cents to the Commis- 
sioner of Patents, with the above numbers, learn the 
secret. 



PROMINENT CONJURKKS ABROAD. 



51 



Mr. Adolpb Seeman, the son of Prof. Seeman, is 
following in the footsteps of his father, and is in a 
fair way to achieve great success. With his wife, 
who so ably assisted his father, he is duplicating the 
same performances in our leading cities. 



CHAPTER IV. 



PROMINENT AND SKILLFUL AMATEURS. 

Amateurs of the Pacific Coast— " Mine Host" Taylor — The 
Apparatus Amateurs buy — Chicago Amateurs—Salo Ansbach, 
His Career. 

Our attention is first called to amateur conjurers 
of the Pacific Coast. The leading one of that part 
of our country is, so far as known, Louis Beyersdorf, 
who traveled professionally for a number of years, 
but who is now the proprietor of a saloon in San 
Francisco. He is very expert in sleight of-hand- 
work of all kinds and exceedingly clever with cards, 
at which he probably has no equal on the Coast. 

Another amateur of San Francisco is Christian 
Meinecke, who is noted as being very expert in 
"palming." He is also credited with having turned 
out some very good pupils. 

A couple of gentlemen of the same city, that were 
associated together professionally, are John B. 
Knudson and Charles Haslett. The former is occa- 
sionally occupied in giving private entertainments 
and is skillful in sleight-of-hand work. Mr. Haslett 
also still appears, but only at private parties. Both 
were variety performers when in the business pro- 
fessionally, although they have a better idea and 



PROMINENT AND SKILLFUL AMATEURS. 53 

knowledge of the Magic Art than many performers 
of greater reputation. They excelled in their 
" second-sight," which was a signal improvement on 
the system used by Heller. Theirs was invented by 
Haslett, although elaborated and coinpleted by both. 
The questions were natural and short, and it would 
be exceedingly difficult to produce any article that 
they could not describe. 

A conjurer of the same city, who gives a very 
neat performance, is Mr. O. Erickson. He has a good 
knowledge of the art, but excels more with appara- 
tus than he does with sleight-of-hand. 

A gentleman coming from a conjuring family on 
the other side of the Atlantic is Mongreni de L'As- 
sommoir. He teaches conjuring and occasionally 
goes out on the road professionally, doing his work 
quite satisfactorily. 

The Pacific Coast professionals and amateurs have 
always preferred buying their apparatus of Eastern 
or foreign make, second or third hand, consequently 
cheap, or else have had it made up at home as cheaply 
as possible. It is a fact known to all manufactur- 
ers of conjuring apparatus that amateurs, with a few 
exceptions, insist on having cheap apparatus ; and 
this was what caused an excellent manufacturer and 
teacher, Eobert Hellis, of London, a gentleman 
noted for his skill and good judgment, to remark 
about some poor apparatus once — That it was bad 
enough, even for an amateur." 

One magician who will have only good work, is 
Thomas H. Kerr, of San Francisco. He is the only 
one of the far Western amateurs who has bought 



54 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



extensively of Eastern and foreign manufacturers, 
always paying even more than catalogue prices, 
because he desired to have especially line workman- 
ship in apparatus. He has collected the most exten- 
sive outfit on the Coast. He has also invented many 
mechanical effects in conjuring apparatus. His 
specialties are cards and coins. There are very few 
interested in the art who have as extensive a knowl 
edge of it as he. His qualities as an entertaining con- 
jurer are highly appreciated. 

While there are amateurs scattered all over the 
Western States and Territories, we naturally find the 
majority of them in our most populous cities. One 
quite well known through the Central and Western 
States as a very clever performer, is JST. X. Aristos, 
of Kansas City, Mo. There are very few" gentlemen, 
either in or out of the profession, that have a more 
extensive knowledge of necromancy than he, and, 
although his name is very rarely seen in theatrical 
journals, he is one of the few clever performers in 
the semi-professional line who find it quite profit- 
able. 

A skillful amateur is the genial Frank Taylor, 
until recently ^' Mine Host" of the Bowler House, 
at Marshalltown, Iowa. There is not a professional 
traveling who can excel Taylor in cards, coins, and 
tricks with small articles ; and whenever Frank is 
prevailed upon to give one of his excellent enter- 
tainments, he is certain of a full house and an appre- 
ciative audience. 

Chicago is well supplied with amateur conjurers 
of all classes; they number wealthy Board of Trade 



PKOMINENT AND SKILLFUL AMATEURS. 55 

men, clerks, book-keepers, even Senators and mem- 
bers of the Supreme Bench among their rank. W . A. 
Havemeyer has probably invested more money in 
the art than any amateur of the city. He was quite 
prominent in the magic circles of I^ew York and 
Brooklyn a number of years ago. We have here so 
many amateurs from such varied conditions that a 
volume might be written about them. 

In the Eastern cities there are still larger numbers 
of amateurs than in Chicago, many of whom were 
quite prominent a number of years ago, but, for 
various reasons, these have, generally, lost their 
interest in the Art. As they grew older they made 
way for younger ones to follow in their footsteps. 

In getting up programmes, there are very few 
amateurs who have shown much originality. One 
in Chicago copied into his programme the name of 
every trick he could find in books of magic or cata- 
logues of manufacturers of conjuring apparatus. 
The result was such a long list of names and such 
a conglomeration of them that one would not know 
what to expect. Others have copied programmes 
of leading professionals so closely that there is left 
no originality in their own. 

An amateur magician known throughout the coun- 
try is Salo Ansbach. He is properly spoken of as a 
semi-professional, as he makes a business of travel- 
ing and teaching tricks. He puts up at the most 
fashionable hotel, and is always ^' in the swim." 
He scatters his business cards broadcast, taking 
care that they reach the hands of the better class. 
He shows feats to a business man in his office and 



56 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

does not hesitate to exhibit one on the street to a 
prospective pupil. He gathers his classes around 
him in his rooms at the hotel and charges each 
pupil from five to ten dollars for a half-dozen tricks. 
He is a very painstaking teacher. One of the favor- 
ite little performances of his, is showing a person 
how to pull a handkerchief through the flame of a 
gas jet without the handkerchief taking fire. 

A number of years ago, Salo taught a class at the 
Gibson House in Cincinnati, in which there were a 
number of prominent gentlemen, and one of them 
felt sure he could do the handkerchief trick without 
practicing it. On returning home that evening he 
showed his wife some of these interesting feats he 
had just learned from Ansbach, but reserved the 
masterpiece until they were about to retire. In lieu 
of a handkerchief he thought he would take some- 
thing larger to make the effect more startling, and, 
seizing hold of a pillow case, began to pull it quite 
successfully through the gas without its taking fire. 
The first trial was not enough, although his wife 
was greatly surprised at this. The second attempt 
resulted in igniting the pillow case, and in trying to 
get it out of his hands he succeeded in setting fire 
to the bed. Considerable excitement was created 
which cost him more than it did to learn the trick. 
In this case, the prophecy of Ansbach was fulfilled, 
as he always states that when the trick is properly 
produced it will not fail to create a sensation. 

"While Mr. Ansbach has not a very extensive 
knowledge of the magic art, the tricks he teaches 
are very clever ones, and he is exceedingly success- 



PROMINENT AND SKILLFUL AMATEURS. 57 

ful with them, much more so than his pupils, who 
all learn identically the same ones. From this arose 
a most peculiar contretemfs^ which is described by 
a gentleman present, in a San Francisco paper. The 
identity of Ansbach is concealed under the name of 
Zimmerman. 

" One pleasant afternoon, not long ago, Hqn. 
Stephen Gage was sitting in his office on the corner 
of Fourth and Townsend streets, when he suddenly 
became aware of the presence of a rather good-look- 
ing young man who had entered the door unan- 
nounced. 

" ' Your name is er and Mr. Gage 

looked very inquiringly. As the young man did not 
say anything, he ran his finger up and down over a 
row of cards on which were written the names of 
people in the ante-room who wanted to see him. 

" ' Is your card here, sir % ' said Mr. Gage. 

" ' You will find it in the bottom of that drawer,' 
was the reply. 

Mr. Gage frowned, for he was annoyed at the 
intrusion, and especiall}^ so that a man should coolly 
tell him that his card was in a drawer that was 
always locked. 

" ^ I have no time to trifle, sir. If you have any 
business, state it, and be as brief as possible.' 

" ' If you will unlock the drawer you will find my 
card and my business on it.' 

" Mr. Gage impatiently unlocked the drawer and 
his face changed somewhat in expression as he saw 
lying there a card which read as follows : 



58 



MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



L. ZIMMERMAN. 

Teacher of Legerdemain. 



*'He looked up at the young maa and smiled 
slio:htlv. 

"'Well, I guess you've got me this time. How 
the deuce did that card get there ? ' 

^' *I can't tell you that, but if you wish to learn a 
few new and valuable tricks, I can teach them for a 
small amount.' 

" ' I have no time now to learn tricks. This is my 
busy day, and I hope you will let me transact my 

regular business and allow me to bid you good 

Say, how the mischief did you do that ? ' 

" Mr. Gage's query was natural enough, for Mr. 
Zimmerman, who was about to go, wiped his brow 
with a large silk handkerchief and then dropped the 
handkerchief into his hat. 

"As he did so he turned the inside of his hat 
toward Mr. Gage, but the hat was empty. 

" Mr. Gage gazed at Mr. Zimmerman with absolute 
astonishment. 

" ' Do you mind doing that again ? ' 

"' I will teach you the trick for two dollars. Mr. 
Gage.' 

" ' Do you absolutely guarantee that I can do it ? ' 
" ' I doV 

*"A11 right, here's the money.' 

" Mr. Zimmerman proceeded to initiate Mr. Gage 



PROMINENT AND SKILLFUL AMATEURS. 



59 



into the mysteries of the trick, and then Mr. Gage 
began to practice it. 

"'Pshaw ! ' said Gage, ' that's too simple for any- 
thing. ' 

" ' That's the beauty of all my tricks — they're 
simple. Here is another. Take that cane in both 
hands.' 

" Mr. Gage firmly grasped the cane, and as he did 
so the conjurer tapped it a few times with a brass 
ring, and, presto, the ring was whirling round the 
cane, having encircled it in a most inexplicable 
way. 

" ' How much ? ' said Mr. Gage. 
" ' Five dollars, sir.' 

" In about five minutes Mr. Gage knew all about 
that trick also, and then the magician proceeded to 
show him how to pull a whole clothes-line full of 
underwear from a stove-pipe hat ; how to make 
newly-laid eggs go through tables without breaking 
either egg or table ; how to make a dollar dance all 
over the floor as if it were alive; how to change 
tanks of ink into pure Spring Valley water full of 
live gold-fish, and scores of other astonishing feats 
which any one can do if he is only properly taught. 

It took just four hours for Mr. Zimmerman to 
teach Mr. Gage all the tricks he knew, and the bill 
was just eighty dollars. 

" Meanwhile, the ante-room where people cool their 
heels while waiting to see the magnates of the road 
was almost like the Black Hole of Calcutta. It was 
packed with men and women who wanted to see 
Mr. Gage. The small boys who carry the cards 



60 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

could not get in, and the room got hotter and 
hotter every moment. It happened to be one of 
those days when the !N"evada contingent was there 
in full force. 

" Black, Wallace, ' Cleve,' George Cassidy, Judge 
Boardman, H. M. Yerrington, Bob Keating, Joe 
Douglas and Governor Stevenson were in the ante- 
room holding an indignation meeting. 

" Messages of all description were sent in by the 
boy, but Mr. Gage merely said, ' Lay them on the 
table,' and the boy would go back and say, *Mr. 
Gage is busy.' Then the !N"evada crowd would blas- 
pheme awhile and wonder who the devil was taking 
up so much time. 

" Then they grew troubled, for they thought thej 
scented some political job that they were not in, and 
that did not make them feel any better. The crowd 
in the room was finally so great that not another 
person could be wedged in, and the air was stifling. 

" The people went away in droves, and the air 
along down the street was murky with profanity. 

" It was 5 o'clock when the Professor of Magic 
had finished his labors, and Mr. Gage, realizing for 
the first time that it was 5 o'clock, decided to go 
home, leaving by a side door. 

" That evening at his Oakland residence he showed 
some of the new tricks to the children, and he had 
the audience of amazed youngsters spell-bound. It 
was midnight before any one realized how late it 
really was. Each day he practiced the tricks until 
he became as proficient as the Professor himself. 

"Then he concluded to give a performance on 



PROMINENT AND SKILLFUL AMATEURS. 61 

Saturday evening, and sent invitations to Creed 
Raymond, J. C. Stubbs, J. A. Fillmore, W. H. Hills, 
Ariel Lathrop, T. H. Goodman and E. H. Pratt to 
come over and have a quiet evening at whist. 

"He had everything ready for a bewildering 
entertainment. The paraphernalia was all arranged, 
the lights were regulated so as to assist the per- 
former, and everything was in apple-pie order by 8 
o'clock. 

" The guests were all there at the appointed hour, 
and after a very little time spent at whist it was 
voted a bore, and suddenly Mr. Gage was aware of 
the fact that Land Agent Mills was doing a very 
extraordinary card trick, one that he had paid 
Zimmerman $2 to learn. 

"When it was finished there was no applause, and 
Mr. Goodman was up in a flash with a better one. 

" No one seemed much astonished, and then Pratt 
and Fillmore, in different parts of the room, began 
doing tricks with a hat and handkerchief, and each 
did exactly the same trick at the same time. 

" Then Creed Haymond did the ring-and cane 
trick. 

" ' Oh, that's nothing ; anybody can do that,' came 
in a general chorus from all sides. 

" Stubbs was on his feet to show how to make a 
half-dollar go through the table. 

" It was very cleverly done, but it astonished no 
one. 

" Fillmore made a coin dance all over the carpet 
like a drunken mud-turtle trying to waltz, but the 



62 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



usual looks of wonder and amazement were wanting 
to complete the scene. 

" Each man had a new and better trick than all 
the rest, and each performer, when he saw a trick 
done, merely turned up his nose and said it was 
nothing. He could beat it. 

" Each guest was wrangling to get his turn; the-y 
were pulling omelets and white rabbits out of all 
sorts of impossible places, and the little rabbits were 
skipping all over the floor. 

" It began to dawn upon Mr. Gage that the whole 
crowd had been taken in by Zimmerman, although 
he recollected that Zimmerman had given him a 
most solemn assurance that he taught him these 
tricks with the understanding that he had the exclu- 
sive monopoly as far as the Southern Pacific Eail- 
road was concerned and that not another soul in the 
building was to know a single trick. At 12:30 the 
crowd had exhausted the Zimmerman repertoire and 
Mr. Gage had not been given an opportunity to 
show his skill in a single trick. The crowd paused. 
They were exhausted and then began to look at 
one another in a curious way. 

" Then a young daughter of Mr. Gage said : 
*Papa has been practicing these same tricks all 
day.' 

" There was an explosion of laughter that shook 
the house, and it lasted about ten minutes. 

"Mr. Gage was always known as a liberal enter- 
tainer, and he led the way to the supper table. 

" ' Gentlemen, you have entertained me very nicely 



PROMINENT AND SKILLFUL AMATEURS. 



63 



this evening, and your tricks are very clever. Sit 
down, everybody.' 

"Then they sent the children to bed and the 
neighbors say that the sounds of good-natured 
revelry could be heard until nearly daylight in the 
Gage mansion." 

Mr. Ansbach is originally from Chicago ; and, as 
far as known, is the first person who has made a 
pronounced success as a traveling teacher of magic. 
He occasionally gives entertainments at hotels and 
fashionable resorts, and at such times is assisted by 
his accomplished wife. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE HERRMANNS AND HARRY KELLAR. 

The Original Carl Herrmann— Alexander Herrmann, His Con- 
federates, How They Sometimes Fail— Harry Kellar, His 
Travels— Alexander Herrmann's Cremation— Martino's Sphinx 
— Kellar's Growth of Flowers. 

A number of conjurers have appeared in different 
parts of the world under the name of Herrmann. 
The original one, who made the greatest success, 
was Carl Herrmann. He made his first appearance 
before an English-speaking audience at the Adelphi 
Theatre in London. He styled himself then " premier 
prestidigitateur/' of France, and "first professor of 
Magic in the world." This was in 1848. At that 
time he gave a series of performances, assisted by 
his wife. One of his feats was the famous second- 
sight deception, which was then helping to make 
the fame of Houdin on the continent. This " Prince 
of Conjurers," as he called himself, died at Carlsbad, 
in June, 1887, after a short illness, at the age of 
seventy -two. He possessed most extraordinary skill 
in his line, his father having also been a conjurer by 
profession. 

While still a boy he accompanied his father to 
Paris, where the dexterity of the young conjurer 

64 



THE HERRMANNS AND HARRY KELLAR, 65 

attracted much attention. He seems, however, to 
have become tired of supporting himself by his wits, 
and, entering the Paris University, he studied medi- 
cine, living in great poverty in the Quartier Latin. 
After some ten years of this he gave it up and 
definitely resumed his old profession, which in the 
end brought him honors and a large fortune. His 
tours extended over the entire civilized world, and 
there was probably not a single Royal Court in 
Europe before which he did not perform. He was 
the only conjurer who had given lessons to Royalty 
themselves, the Queen of Belgium having been one 
of his pupils. 

The unfortunate Sultan Abdul Aziz was amongst 
Herrmann's warmest admirers, and used to pay him 
a thousand pounds (Turkish) for every representa- 
tion. During one of these performances he exhibited 
two pigeons, one white and one black, and did the 
trick so popular at the beginning of this century, of 
placing the white head on the black pigeon and vice 
versa. This pleased the Sultan greatly and he asked 
Herrmann to try the same trick with a black and white 
slave, but the conjurer declared that that was beyond 
his powers. On another occasion he took a rare and 
valuable watch from the Sultan and pretended to 
throw it into the sea ; his Majesty, of course, finding 
it again in his own pocket. 

The Czar Nicholas also bestowed valuable favors 
on Herrmann, who, it is said, cleared a million rou- 
bles on one Russian tour. He was very charitable 
(something uncommon in a conjurer), and only a few 
days before his death sent 1,500 francs for the relief 



66 MODEKN MAGICIANS AND THEIK WORKS. 

of the victims of the Opera-Comique disaster. In 
Vienna, where he resided, he was yery popular, and 
when he celebrated his seventieth birthday a distin- 
guished company assembled at his residence to con- 
gratulate him. He left a large fortune and a collec- 
tion of rare antiquities, which he spared no trouble 
or cost in amassing. He left a widow, a French 
lady. She was his second wife ; his first, from whom 
he was divorced, being the prima donna, Madame 
Czillag, who is still living and is a teacher of singing. 
His tours in America took place in the sixties. 

The gentleman traveling in this country by the 
same surname is known as Alexander Herrmann, who, 
it is generally understood, claims to be a brother of 
the original Carl Herrmann. This seems rather odd, 
as Carl Herrmann was more than old enough to be 
Alexander Herrmann's father, and diligent corre- 
spondence and inquiry fail to establish the fact of 
brothership. A number of persons have claimed 
that the original name of Alexander Herrmann is 
Simon, while others have said he was Jack Marr, of 
Buffalo, but these were no doubt parties who had 
usurped the name of Herrmann. Harry Kellar, 
who has had a long experience among conjurers, 
gives his name as Niemann, as will be hereafter 
seen. 

Alexander Herrmann is a skillful performer, par- 
ticularly so in sleight-of-hand tricks ; however, much 
of his success is due to his name. He is noted as 
using more confederates among his audiences than 
any other professional traveling, something that is 
discountenanced by all real admirers of the art. He 



THE HERRMANNS AND HARRY KELLAR. 



07 



often makes use of five or six in the course of one 
evening's performance. By employing so many con- 
federates, he has sometimes had the tables turned 
on himself, and been obliged to get out of his trick 
the best way he could, to the disappointment of his 
audience. He was once performing in one of our 
Southern towns, when he was to show the basket 
trick, the important part of which is, that the assist- 
ant goes from the stage and appears in front among 
the audience as quickly as possible. On this occasion 
the shortest cut from the stage to the front was 
down through a shoe store. The owner of the 
store was also the owner of the theatre, and he 
agreed to have his man open the doors at the proper 
time each evening for the assistant to make his 
hasty trip. All worked well for the first two nights, 
the assistant using the trap in the stage, going down 
through the shoe store and out, then up the main 
entrance to the front of the house, scarcely a minute 
elapsing. The third night all went smoothly until 
the assistant went through the store. A policeman 
who was not " in it," saw a man skip out of the door 
in a rush, without any hat, and he immediately 
seized him and marched him to the station house to 
explain matters. The reader can imagine the fix 
Herrmann was in. 

The Professor was once disappointed in a con- 
federate in the following manner : A marked dollar 
bill was given to a "culled pusson," and also a ticket 
for a seat in one of the back rows, and he was told 
not to be too quick in producing it. Then Herrmann 
began the trick requiring the marked dollar bill, 



68 MODERN MAGTOIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

borrowing one, having it marked, loaded in a pistol 
and fired in the air. He then stepped to the foot- 
lights, and asked if there was not some one in the 
audience who had felt a sensation in their pocket. 
Still no reply. He finally spied the "gentleman of 
color," and invited him up on the stage; after a good 
deal of trouble and coaxing, he came up and was 
asked if he felt any queer sensation; he answered, 
"No." The professor whispered in his ear to pull 
out the dollar note— "now is the time," while he 
acted in a very serious manner. The dusky con- 
federate was confused, and at last pulled some loose 
change from his pocket with the words : " Heah it 
am, Massa, all dats left ob dat dollar bill you gib me ; 
I done gone spend some for a drink." 

It is a peculiar fact that amateurs have thought 
more of Herrmann's performance than of most any 
other professional, especially so in the large cities. 
It has often been a struggle to see who could be his 
first confederate. Even prominent and wealthy 
amateurs have made themselves and the art common, 
we might say, by going to his performances with 
their pockets loaded with packs of cards, for the 
sake of having him pull them out in the presence of 
the audience, thus obtaining a little cheap notoriety. 
During an engagement not long ago at Hooley's 
Theatre, Chicago, he commenced the week's enter- 
tainments with a mishap, which seemed to unnerve 
him. The result was, nearly every other trick went 
wrong throughout the entire evening, and the audi- 
ence could see that he was ill at ease during the 



THE HERRMANNS AND HARRY KELLAR. 69 

performance. A local writer thus speaks of the 
misfortunes then attending him : 

" Herrmann, the magician, had a pretty rocky 
night of it at his show Monday. Either he or his 
assistant was continually dropping something that 
marred the smoothness of the performance. The 
machinery for the "cocoon " trick didn't work well 
and there were a good many other things to annoy 
him. One of the contretemps was funny and was 
appreciated by those on the inside. One of the 
things he does is known in the profession as the 
* omelet trick ' — you know it, borrowed rings in 
skillet, eggs broken and put in with them, a little 
grease from a lighted candle to give it flavor, some 
spirits poured over the whole mess, lighted, the 
cover clapped on, a pistol fired, presto 1 off comes 
the cover, and in the place of the omelet stuff are 
found doves, around the neck of each a ribbon, and 
on the end of the ribbon a borrowed ring. As he 
usually performs the trick, four rings are borrowed 
and four eggs are used. These eggs are produced 
as follows: 'Mr. Gumbo,' his colored assistant, has 
a small egg in his mouth. Herrmann has three 
others concealed about his clothes. He ' palms ' an 
egg — that is, conceals it in his hand — pats Mr. 
Gumbo on the back of the head with the open 
hand, and Gumbo makes the egg in his mouth 
appear. Herrmann, covering Mr. Gumbo's mouth 
with the hand holding the concealed egg, pushes 
back the one showing between his assistant's 
lips and produces the one he has in his hand, 
the effect on the audience being precisely as 



70 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

if be took the egg from the assistant's mouth. 
This process is repeated three times with the 
eggs Herrmann has concealed in his hand ; and 
the fourth time he really takes the egg from Gum- 
bo's mouth, making the four required in the trick. 
Monday night everything went on swimmingly until 
it came to the unlucky fourth egg. Herrmann 
patted Gumbo on the back of the head and looked 
for the egg to appear between his lips. But it didn't 
come. Instead of it there spread over Mr. Gumbo's 
face a most comical mixture of astonishment and 
disgust, and turning short about he rushed off the 
stage. The egg had ^squashed in his mouth.' That 
left Herrmann short one egg for the trick, and so in 
asking for the loan of some rings he requested that 
there be three instead of four as usual. Gumbo col- 
lects the rings on a little stick. Slipped over the end 
of the stick and concealed by his right hand, in 
which he holds the stick, are three substitute rings. 
As soon as three rings are borrowed, Gumbo trans- 
fers the stick to his left hand, letting the borrowed 
rings run into that hand and the substitute rings take 
their places on the stick, while the audience is 
unaware that any substitution has been effected, and 
thinks that the borrowed rings go into the omelet. 
Of course they don't ; Gumbo takes them off with 
him, ties one to each of the ribbons, puts a ribbon 
around each bird's neck, puts the birds inside the 
cover to the skillet, which has a false bottom for the 
purpose, and places the whole business on the stand 
near Herrmann, where he can get at it at the proper 
moment. That is what is done when everything 



THE HERRMANNS AND HARRY KELLAK. 71 



goes smoothly. Monday night Gumbo, after collect- 
ing the rings, let one of the substitutes fall off the 
stick, and it got lost among the fiddlers. 'Never 
mind,' says Herrmann, ' come along.' Then he gave 
Mr. Gumbo a look enough to burn him up, put the 
two remaining substitutes into the skillet, pretended 
to pick the third out of the air, and then proceeded 
with the trick. At the critical moment, after clap- 
ping on the cover to the skillet, he knocked the pistol 
off the table and had to go sweeping around the floor 
with his hand until he found it. The rest of the 
trick went all right, but he came nearer losing his 
nerve that time than I ever saw him before. There 
was a succession of mishaps enough to upset the best 
man in the world." 

The "Major" of the ''Turn-Over" Club, of Chi- 
cage, tells the following about Herrmann using 
confederates. The story is told of his former busi- 
ness manager, Frank Curtis, and a similar thing 
happened to George Ryerson, son of the dramatist 
of Den Thompson's "Old Homestead," when he 
was in the business : 

Frank was supposed to plant the necessary con- 
federates in seats that Herrmann knew of. He 
purchases two plug hats exactly alike, one of which 
goes to the confederate, and the other to the magi- 
cian. Herrmann walked down and politely asked 
the loan of a hat. from the man sitting in the usual 
seat. Now it happened that Frank had been busy 
and had neoflected to arrano^e for the bat trick. 
The magician took the borrowed hat, kicked it, tore 
it in pieces and rammed it in a gun and shot it 



72 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

towards the dome. The people looked up and there 
hung a "spick and span" new hat. It soon fell 
down and was brushed with a silk handkerchief and 
handed back to the man from whom it was bor- 
rowed. Then only was it discovered that a mistake 
had been made, and the man who loaned an eight- 
dollar Dunlap received in return a two-dollar dicer, 
which just sat on the top of his head. It is unnec- 
essary to state that Frank has never since then 
neglected his part, as he had to replace the hat 
which was destroyed. 

One of the marked peculiarities of both Herrmann 
and Kellar (which is noticed more in them, owing 
to their prominence), is, that they invariably intro- 
duce their tricks and illusions as being of their own 
invention, which is not the case, as neither of them 
have ever invented any trick or illusion of particular 
importance. Herrmann introduces such as make 
him rely more on his assistants than does Kellar. 
We remember that when the latter com.menced 
using the ^' suspension in the air," without support, 
similiar to the one patented by Will B. Wood, he 
advertised it in the N'ew York papers very exten- 
sively as a most wonderful illusion and his own 
invention, which called forth a card from the makers 
of it, that they were the originators. The facts are, 
very few professionals now traveling have invented 
their own illusions or effects, depending on persons 
who make that a specialty. 

Harry Keller (for that was his real name) was 
born in Erie, Pennsylvania, July 11, 1849. He 
changed the spelling of his name to ^'Kellar," ia 



THE HERRMANNS AND HARRY KELLAE. 73 

order the people might not think that he was imitat- 
ing the name of Heller. He has probably traveled 
as much about the world as any performer now 
before the public in our country. The major part 
of these years of foreign travel has been spent in 
heathen countries, where his "grey -haired and 
bearded tricks," as a Western paper puts it, are 
more appreciated than here. He has written a 
sketch of his tours round about the world, or rather 
had it written by one who signed himself " Satan ;" 
but, by reading the book, any one can see that that 
dignitary had nothing to do with it, as he is a being 
supposed to have considerable ability. 

A little over a year ago a great rivalry sprang up 
between Herrmann and Kellar, which resulted for a 
time in each one exposing some of the other's tricks 
during their performances throughout the country. 
Prof. Kellar's side of the matter is better expressed 
in the words of a reporter who interviewed him 
for one of the Philadelphia papers : 

"For some time Herrmann, the other magician, 
has been professing to give an expose of Kellar's 
performance. Yesterday Mr. Kellar was asked for 
his side of the controversy. Assuming an easy atti- 
tude and calmly puffing away at a cigar, Mr. Kellar 
watched the wreaths of smoke which curled toward 
the ceiling of his room for a moment or so, and then 
slowly said : 

" ' Well, Alexander Niemann's, or Herrmann, as he 
calls himself, expose of ray work affects my business 
just about as much as that smoke. I don't consider 
myself in the same class with Mr. Niemann. His 



74 MODERN MAGIGIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

explanations of my tricks are so far from correct 
that while they may have given him a little cheap 
notoriety they have done me no harm, and I pro- 
pose going right ahead with the same " tricks," as 
he calls them. Mr. I^iemann has a great many 
things to learn yet. All he knows now he has picked 
up from the original and bona fide Herrmann, whom 
he once assisted and who is now dead. Of course 
his expose of a few of my simple feats were correct. 

' Mr. ISTiemann's actions do not affect me in the 
least. I could afford to pass them by unnoticed, but 
what disgusts me is his despicable way of trying to 
influence theatrical managers against me. For a 
long time he has endeavored to get the managers to 
cancel their contracts with me by threatening to 
refuse to show in their houses should I show there 
first. 

"'I don't think he will ever try to down me on an 
open fight again, though,' chuckled Mr. Kellar, as, 
after a violent struggle with the lid of his portable 
safe, he succeeded in kicking it open and fishing out 
a lot of documents. ^ I don't think Mike Leavitt 
wants any more of it either. Let me give you a 
little unwritten history of one of the biggest fights 
I know of. Last year I was under contract with 
Leavitt to make a tour through the far "West, Cali- 
fornia and Mexico. The trip was to begin Septem- 
ber 1. Herrmann, as soon as he heard of the pro- 
posed trip, found Leavitt and talked to him. Leav- 
itt wrote to me explaining that he could do better 
by postponing my trip until October, and although 
1 was not satisfied I consented. I afterward learned 



THE HERRMANNS AND HARRY KELLAR. 75 

that Leavitt had contracted to take Herrmann, or, 
more properly, Memann, over m^^ route on my old 
dates. This would have been ruinous to me, with 
my large company, as Niemann would have got the 
pick of the patronage, so I paid Leavitt a forfeit and 
canceled the contract. 

" ' I was pretty hot, and made up my mind to make 
a fight of it. I made arrangements with the Orrin 
Brothers to play in the City of Mexico, and engaged 
the Nacionale, the largest theatre in the place, for 
the only available dates, from September first to 
eleventh. By this means I would beat Herrmann 
there should he fill his California dates. I had con- 
tracted with Manager Heuck to play two weeks 
from August fifth, in Cincinnati, but as soon as 
Herrmann learned from his Mexican agent that I 
had taken the Nacionalefor September first he made 
arrangements to open in Mexico a week ahead of 
me, and engaged the theatre Principale, a small 
house. This, of course, compelled him to cancel 
some of his California dates. (That is not a pun. 
The fruits were bitter for Herrmann.) As soon as I 
heard of it I went to Manager Heuck and offered 
him the gross receipts of the first week, I to take 
the second week's receipts. He agreed, and I imme- 
diately gave up the second week, and telegraphed 
my man to get the " Nacionale " at once, regardless 
of cost, on August seventeenth, 

" jumped to Mexico. The Spanish Opera Com- 
pany had the " Nacionale," but I made arrange- 
ments to show in conjunction with them, and in 
that way got in a big week ahead of Herrmann, who, 



76 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WOEKS. 

instead of coming right on to Mexico, then toured 
the country for a month. When he reached Mexico 
I was in San Luis Potosi and had intended leaving 
the country, but Mr. Orrin telegraphed me that 
Herrmann had boasted in the lobby of the theatre 
that he had driven me out of Mexico. This raised 
my Pennsylvania Dutch and I determined to make 
it warm for Mr. Herrmann. I jumped back to 
Mexico, took the * ' Arbeau " Theatre, and played 
against him his second and last week. 

" ' He had only two towns left to do in Mexico, 
Puebla and Vera Cruz. I engaged the only two 
theatres in Puebla and the best one in Yera Cruz. 
This forced him to stay a longer time in Mexico or 
play that week in Puebla. He did the latter, play- 
ing two nights of his City of Mexico engagement at 
Puebla. It cost him about $300 a round trip to 
take his company to Puebla. He took in $315 and 
$385 on the two nights, and had to pay 60 per cent, 
of that to the dramatic company in conjunction with 
which his show was given.' " 

Kellar has made considerable capital out of his 
exposure of Charles H. Bridge, of Boston, Mass. A 
correspondent well acquainted with both of these 
gentlemen, and who lives in Boston, wrote that he 
could not quite understand the Kellar-Bridge 
" racket," but believed Kellar became angry with 
something Bridge had performed. Bridge himself 
has stated that Kellar was afraid he. Bridge, might 
do something he could not duplicate, and therefore 
at the commencement of the old trick of the " bench 



THE HERRMANNS AND HARRY KELLAR. 77 

test," he gave it away." An article on Kellar's 
tricks in the Chicago Herald^ is in some of its 
details quite ingenious : 

" The future of the modern prestidigitateur will 
be a very uncertain quantity if the policy of reveal- 
ing their methods, which is made a feature of this 
season's work by the two leading professors of that 
art, continues. Kellar, who has just closed an en- 
gagement at the Columbia, gives away " some of 
his best tricks, and Herrmann, who is expected here 
shortly, is also posing as a revelator. Business must 
either have been so good as that both are getting 
ready to retire or it is so poor as to need the extra 
inducement of the revelations to draw paying audi- 
ences. In either event the system would seem to an 
outsider to be suicidal. The end is inevitable. Peo- 
ple vrill not continue to pay their money to see tricks 
performed that are no longer mysteries. Either 
original effort of an order somewhat higher than has 
been put forth will have to be employed in the con- 
trivance of new illusions, or the business of necro- 
mancy will soon be a thing of the past. 

" Two classes of tricks are performed by the mod- 
ern magician. The one depends largely, if not 
entirely, upon mechanical aids. In the other reli- 
ance on sleight-of-hand is the main-stay of the per- 
former. Some are combinations of the two, and 
perhaps this class predominates to-day. Grace and 
ease of manner are essential to a successful sleight-of- 
hand performer, while eternal vigilance and exten- 
sive financial resources are necessary in order to 
enable a mechanical operator to keep abreast of the 



78 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

times, and to both the greatest secrecy is of the first 
importance. It is almost impossible to protect these, 
by patent or otherwise, from infringement by 
brother professionals; and, indeed, any shrewd 
observer, with a good opera-glass, can detect the 
modus operandi of the tricks involving expensive 
machinery. But this is apart from the public dem- 
onstration of the methods that seem to have been 
adopted as a policy for this season by Kellar and 
Herrmann. Between the two there is precious litile 
left for the imagination or detective ability of the 
audience to work on. 

" The performance at the Columbia lacked the 
comedy character infused into the ^business' by 
Kellar's great competitor, Herrmann. If shorn of its 
extraneous aid from the musical and second-sight 
members of the company it would probably fall flat. 
Kellar starts in with the trick which made our great- 
grandfathers open their eyes in wonder, consisting 
in the juggling of empty cups with false tops, which 
are made to represent the surface of coffee and milk 
and filled ones hidden away in a box of shavings. 
His next is the equally time-worn trick of the rings, 
pistol and many boxes. This, as every school-boy 
knows, is done by substituting for the rings borrowed 
from the audience an equal number of brass cir- 
clets held on the same wand as the loaned jewelry is 
placed, but concealed by the left hand until an 
opportunity occurs for an exchange, the brass rings 
being loaded into the pistol, or more likely slipped 
into the coat-sleeve pocket. The gold rings are 
dropped on a table in the ' flies,' where the assistant 



THE HERRMANNS AND HARRY KELLAR. 79 

can get and inclose them in a box which is hidden 
in a recessed space in the table which is brought in 
to placfe the outer boxes on. These boxes are 
^nested,' but one has a false bottom, through which 
the ring containing casket is pressed from its hiding- 
place in the table top. The pistol is duly fired and 
then the boxes are opened with a great show of 
freedom from unnecessary contact with the perform- 
er's person. The last one has the rings inside, each 
neatly attached to a bouquet. 

" The trick of the bottle with its many liquors on 
tap is explained in every book on parlor magic 
extant, the fluid being contained in a funnel inserted 
in the lower portion of the bottle, from which the 
bottom has been removed. Between the false bot- 
tom and the wide end of the funnel is the space for 
the guinea pig. 

" Lightning calculation, which has become so 
common an achievement now as to be used by street- 
corner fakirs, is one of Kellar's strong ' cards.' He 
does some very creditable work in this line. 

" The automatons, ' Psycho ' and ' Echo,' are very 
simple pieces of mechanism. The first consists of a 
figure seated on a stand, supported by a glass 
cylinder resting on a flat wooden base ^Yith three 
knobs, which alone touch the floor. In front of the 
table at which * Psycho ' sits is a row of figures, with 
cards behind. In answering problems the figure's 
head and hand are raised by the initial movement, 
and a lateral motion causes the hand to swing 
into position over the numbered card required. Then 
the hand and head drop, the fingers closing over the 



80 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

card in the act of falling, and a repetition of the 
first movement raises the card, which afterward 
drops from the hand on the latter reaching a given 
altitude. The motive power is air pumped through 
a hole in one of the knobs, which is hollow and 
placed in opposition to a corresponding hole in the 
floor. The assistant below the stage has a book of 
logarithms and a two-thousand-year almanac at 
hand, and as he hears the operator on the stage 
repeat problems given by the audience, he works his 
air-pump according to the solution found in his lim- 
ited library. Kellar's lightning calculation comes in 
when he proves the problems on a blackboard. The 
' second-sight ' trick was performed in the same way 
as when a blindfolded ' clairvo37'ant ' is on the stage 
— by a code in which the answer required is con- 
tained in the question. 

" 'Echo's' mechanism is simpler even than that of 
his brother, ' Psycho.' ' Echo ' is a little figure 
seated on a chair with its feet raised from the floor 
and a brass cornet to its lips. Mrs. Kellar is a pro- 
fessional cornetist, and it is her dulcet strains made 
below the stage that are poured forth from the 
mouth of the otherwise silent instrument in the 
hands of the ' automaton.' A preliminary puff of 
air sent up through the leg of the chair raises the 
arm of the figure, and the cornet is brought into 
contact with the lips of 'Echo/ and then the music 
is transmitted by means of sounding boards and 
tubes. 

" The old, familiar cabinet tricks were performed, 
with a slight variation, w^hich seemed to presage a 



THE HERRMANNS AND HARRY KELLAR. 81 



speedy revelation of the simple maneuver by which 
they are accomplished, in the near future. Kellar 
released and ' tied ' himself again in full view of the 
audience. He failed to show", however, his relatively 
large wrists and small hands, or the twist he gives 
to the cord so as to keep an available amount of 
^ slack.' This trick he learned, as he freely states, 
in his long connection with the Davenport Brothers. 

" 'Astarte ' is the new mechanical trick which is 
supplanting, under various names, the aerial sus- 
pension act. A parting of the draperies in the 
rear of the stage, w4iich, with the auditorium, 
has been reduced to a dimly-lighted condition, 
shows a female figure in tights. Her waist is a 
third larger than any other portion of her body, 
and this gives a clew to the whole business. Be- 
hind the dark plush background is a sort of der- 
rick, worked with a crank, and by this the woman 
is supported and moved up or down, to the right or 
left. A "universal joint" gives her freedom of 
motion to turn aerial handsprings, and the steel 
band which encircles her waist-harness permits her 
to revolve teetotum fashion, or to pirouette. An 
ingenious aid to the illusion is an apparently 
unbroken hoop, decorated with ribbons, which the 
performer flourishes about and passes over her head 
and down below her feet, thus seemingly disproving 
the otherwise rather obvious origin of her suspen- 
sion from behind or the alternative one of wire sup- 
port from above. This ring has an opening which 
allows the supporting iron to pass through it. The 
lateral and vertical openings in the plush curtain 



82 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WQRKS. 



background through Avhich the steel support moves 
are apparent to a close observer, even without a 
glass." 

Alexander Herrmann's "Cremation" is thus 
sketched by a Western journal: "Herrmann made 
his cremation act the leading feature of his pro- 
gramme, but while it was vested with weird and 
somewhat thrilling details, still the trick is as palpa- 
ble as any in his repertory. Without going into all 
the minor details it may be said that ' Cremation ' is a 
combination of the old Indian basket trick and the 
Pepper ghost illusion. Instead of a large wicker 
basket, with a false cover, which drops down on the 
inside and takes the place of the back part, which 
falls down backward, a wooden box or casket is 
used. But this is the only dilference, and it is just 
as easy for a person to escape from one as the other, 
and then pass through a trap in the stage. After 
Mme. Herrmann had assumed a reclining position in 
the casket, it was closed for a time long enough for 
her to pass out through the back and take her posi- 
tion under the stage for the final part of the act. 
There was a little by-play to distract the attention of 
the audience while the lady was passing from the 
casket, and the lights were also lowered to prevent 
detection. 

" The casket was on trestles and some distance 
above the stage, but in the dim, uncertain light the 
back part of it could be let down so as to touch the 
stage, and the lady thus pass out without the least 
fear of detection. In some tricks by a certain 
arrangernent of mirrors under a table four legs are 



THE HEEJRMANNS AND HARRY KELLAR. 83 

shown, but two are by reflection merely. The 
mirrors are so placed, also, that they reflect the sur- 
roundings in such a way that the audience imagine 
they can see under the table and whatever may 
be back of it. But in reality they can only see half- 
way. 

"After the torch has been applied to the supposed 
human form in the casket (the same having been 
re-opened and disclosing a dummy), there soon 
appears at the back of the stage an apparition of 
the lady clinging to a cross. Then a ghostly per- 
formance is enacted between Herrmann, the spirit of 
the cremated lady, Mephistopheles and a skeleton. 
The apparitions suddenly appear and disappear, and 
look (leaving out the skeleton) like ' real flesh and 
blood.' 

" The illusion is produced in this manner : At the 
back part of the stage and inclined tow^ard the 
audience at an angle of say forty-five degrees, are 
two large-sized plate glasses, but the audience only 
see the back scenery which shows through them. 
Herrmann takes his position behind these glasses ; 
that is, furthest removed from the audience. There 
is an opening in the stage, and through that pass 
the reflections of persons acting before bright lights 
beneath the stage, and their reflections are re- 
ceived on the plate glasses. Herrmann, from his 
position, does not see any of the ghost-like forms, 
but after careful rehearsals, and being enabled to 
observe the movements of the performers under the 
stage, he suits his actions exactly to the movements 
seen by the audience on the glasses in front of him. 



84 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



" There are many traveling magicians who have a 
good repertory of tricks, including many as equallj^ 
pretentions as any performed by professors of well- 
established reputations, but, owing to a lack of 
impressive stage appearance, self-confidence, dex- 
terity, and the gift of interesting conversational 
powers, they fail, in a measure, to achieve pecuniary, 
as well as artistic, success." 

During a rivalry between Kellar and Herrmann, in 
Chicago, some of the papers contained articles on 
tricks of conjurers. Says the Herald : 

The old trick, or rather illusion, of the talking 
head, generally known as the Sphinx," in which two 
mirrors are placed at right angles in a table to con- 
ceal the person behind them, is well known, yet this 
was the basis of an entertainment given some years 
ago that made considerable merriment. A certain 
professor Martino was giving a gift show through 
this State, and having hard luck was obliged to leave 
part of his outfit in a certain town as securitj^ for his 
board bill. He reached Bloomington, where he held 
forth at " Schroeder's" and had advertised to give 
the talking head" as his special attraction, in addi- 
tion to giving away 200 useful articles. He had an 
audience of about 2,000, but his tricks were bad, and 
their execution worse. Such bungling was never 
seen, yet the gifts smoothed over much of that, 
though they did not prevent some hissing at his bad 
effects. 

The attached sketch shows how he made up a 
talking head in a hurry to save his fortune. This 
was " caught on to " and greatly hissed at by the boys. 



THE HEKRMANNS AND HARRY KELLAR. 



85 



Though the "Sphinx" pulled in his legs, the boys 
still hissedj till the police came in and stopped them. 



skillful performer living, but he drew only thirty- 
six people in the house. Such was the power of 
gifts in those days. Now it is changed and far more 
skill is required. 

''An illusion that has lately attracted considerable 
attention around dime museums has been that of the 
'transparent Turk,' who was supposed to have been 
shot through the body, leaving a hole which could 
be seen through. This is simply an adaption of the 
old trick of looking through a brick. The person 
wears a large hollow belt under his clothes, with 
mirrors at right angles in each of the curves it makes, 
and an oval glass at each opening in front and back, 
the costume of a Turk being such that it easily con- 
ceals the openings and glasses. On this same princi- 
ple is the trick of running a sword through a person's 
body. The sword is of a very thin elastic steel, and 
the performer wears around his body a hollow metal 
belt, and if another person runs the sword through 
the performer it is usually one who understands how 
it is done, and pushes it against his breast, where 
the small opening guides it, and at the back the 
opening is so arranged that the point of the sword 
sticks straight out. The sketch explains it. 




Martino had a 
crowded house 
every night he 
showed, and a 
few days after 
along came 
Hartz, the most 



86 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



Harry Kellar's 
trick that he 
makes the most 
of is purely an 
American inven- 
tion, but so old 
that, besides him- 
self, there are 
only two or three 
others traveling 
who make use of 

SWORD THROUGH BODY. it. It WaS first 

taken to Europe from the States by the performer 
known some thirty or more years ago as Professor 
Stodare, who first showed the " Sphinx." Hartz used 
it a number of years ago, and now Kellar is using it 
constantly. It is the production of several large 
pots filled with flowers from an empty cone. Three 
bushes of flowers are usually produced. Conse- 
quently three small stands are on the stage, each one 
having a suspicious reminder of the past in magic, 
as each has fine drapery around it, reaching to 
within about a foot or more of the floor. Behind 
this drapery, and a little above the lower end of it, 
is a shelf on which rests the flower pot and flowers, 
covered with a cone. Each table is thus prepared, 
usually the first table having flowers and cone, the 
other two generally having the same, including the 
pot. The first pot is shown empty, and down through 
the cone is dropped a bud, which was held palmed 
in the hand. As attention is being called to this, the 




THE HERRMANNS AND HARRY KELLAR. 87 



performer drops the empty cone just shown down 
behind the table over the cone and brings all up 
inside the cone, stepping away 
from the table quickly over to the 
other one. The cone fits closely 
into the first one shown, and the 
fingers on the inside at the top of 
cone hold the inner one fast to- 
gether with the flowers, though 
these are usually kept in position 
by a thread slipped in a cut in the 
top of the cone. The flowers, or 
flowers and pot together, are 
allowed to drop out on top of the 
table from the cone, or into the 
pot as the case may be ; and as 
soon as the cone is removed the 
hand naturally and carelessly drops 
down behind with it over another 
one on the shelf, and again the performer quickly 
walks over to another table and produces it. Thus 
he proceeds till all are produced. 

"To facilitate the picking up of the cones one 
after the other, and that no extra motions are neces- 
sary, the back of the top of each stand is cut out in 
crescent shape. This can not be observed by the 
audience. It follows, thus, that at the end of the 
trick the performer has four cones in his hand, one 
inside of the other. The flowers used are usually 
the best qualit}^ of artificial ones, though Kellar 
keeps the trick very popular, and makes it very 




KELLAR S GROWTH 
OF FLOWERS. 
FRONT VIEW. 



88 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



expensive, by always using real flowers, even in the 
midst of winter. This gives him a chance to kill a 
great deal of time, in cutting each one off of the 
fine wire on which it is fastened, in order that he 
may present them to the ladies. The two cuts show 
both front and rear views of the 
stands. The cone used is usually 
about four inches across the smaller 
end, eight inches across the wider 
end, and about sixteen inches long. 
The proportion of stands, flowers 
and cones as to size vary according 
to the size or height of the performer, 
many of whom use chairs instead of 
stands. The trick has not been pop- 
ular of late years, owing to the 
suspicious drapery." 
The following manner of intro- 
ducing the trick by that clever per- 
former, Prof. Samuels, has not been 
excelled by any professional. His stage being set 
for the trick, he comes on with a tambourine in one 
hand and a larofe wine bottle in the other. Placinij 
the musical instrument on a chair, he pours out 
several glasses of wine from the bottle and gives 
Ihem to the spectators, then places the bottle on a 
chair opposite the tambourine. His patter " is 
about as follows : 

" Ladies and gentlemen : In calling your attention 
to these ordinary flower pots, containing nothing 
but mother earth, I would kindly request you to 




kellae's growth 

OF FLOWERS, 
REAR VIEW. 



THE HERRMANNS AND HARRY KELLAR. 89 



look at them in order to satisfy yourselves that they 
do not contain any internal mechanism. Now, 
although you have freely examined them, you have 
overlooked the principal element requisite for the 
performance of so mysterious an experiment as that 
of growing flowers from seed. Of course the seed 
is necessary ; it is at present completely hidden from 
view, being imbedded in the earth, awaiting the 
mysterious influence of magic to arouse its dormant 
germs to life. I have simply to cover it over for a 
few seconds with this perfectly empty paper cone, 
and while thus completely con(e) fined, magical ac- 
tion has taken place, and germination is the in- 
stantaneous result. Here you perceive the plant just 
sprouting from the earth; I have arrested its pro- 
gress in the first stage of its development in order to 
show it to you. I will continue tiie experiment and 
endeavor to produce the perfect plant. I will cover 
it as before to exclude all unnecessary action of light. 
I leave it a moment and then lift the cone and the 
plant is in sight. This production of fairyland I 
will leave here on this stand, while I attempt to pro- 
duce a rose tree in full bloom in the other pot. Light 
is absolutely unnecessary ; in fact, it would prove in 
this instance absolutely dangerous to the fine tex- 
ture of the plants developed by such spontaneous 
action ; hence I grow them in the shade. T^ow, 
ladies and gentlemen, I will shed refulgent light on 
the subject by revealing to you this mysterious mag- 
ical creation. Sometimes when the atmospheric con- 
ditions are favorable I have no difficulty in produc- 



90 



MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



ing a third growth of flowers, oh yes, here we have 
one already." 

With these concluding words he produces the last 
pot full of flowers ; then taking up the tambourine, it 
changes to a bouquet in his hands; and picking up the 
empty bottle, whirls it around in the air, and that 
too changes without leaving their sight into another 
fine bouquet. 



CHAPTER VI. 



HYPNOTISTS AND THEIR EXPERIMENTS. 

How to Hypnotize— The use of Confederates — The Kennedy 
Brothers — Robert Fulton's Experiments — " Professor John- 
son." 

The word mesmerism," expresses the same mean- 
ing as now conveyed by " hypnotism." Mesmerism 
comes from the name of the originator, Mesmer, 
and "hypnotism" from a word meaning sleep. 
There are few scientists in this country who have 
investigated hypnotism as deeply and as continu- 
ously as some of the prominent ones of the old 
world. That there is something in it, some scientific 
men are ready to acknowledge. The career of Mes- 
mer is well known. After him the first persons 
among the English-speaking nations to call attention 
to it was the Englishman, Braid, to whom is due the 
first well-defined operative manual of hypnotism. 
He has been followed by scores of writers who have 
been more or less prominent. Of late the experi- 
ments of Charcot and his confreres in France and 
other European countries have attracted attention, 
and many finely illustrated articles and works on 
this subject have been issued in the past few years. 

91 



92 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

It is not our intention to go into the scientific details 
of what is claimed for hypnotism, but to explain the 
practical part of it and how it is being used. 

The first question usually asked by a person on 
being satisfied of the genuineness of mesmeric or 
hypnotic phenomena, is : " Can I mesmerize or 
hypnotize a person ? " The answer is in the affirma- 
tive. But just as the ability to play the piano well 
is possessed b}^ but few, and just as only those gifted 
with a fine musical perception and opportunity for 
constant practice can hope to excel in that accom- 
plishment, in like manner are there only few who 
can attain to the higher development of the hypnotic 
power. 

A successful hypnotist must possess sound health, 
great concentration and a steady, firm voice and 
gaze. Faith in one's self is absolutely essential to 
success in hypnotism. Having obtained a willing 
subject, the operator places him in an easy position 
in a chair, his legs uncrossed, with both feet on the 
floor. Place in his hand a small coin, a button, or, 
what is most generally used, a circular piece of lead 
with a copper point in the center. Instruct the sub- 
ject to gaze at it attentively for several minutes. 
Another manner considered equally as good is to 
have the subject close his eyes and place his right 
fingers on his left wrist, telling him to count his 
pulse beats continuously. The object of this is to 
assist the hypnotizer by putting the subject into a 
quiet, passive condition. Do all possible to intro- 
duce a solemn, impressive and deliberate monotony. 
Speak firmly, authoritatively, and behave through- 



HYPNOTISTS AND THEIR EXPERIMENTS. 



93 



out in a manner calculated to impress the subject 
with a profound idea of your power. All tendency 
to any frivolity, levity or jocularity must be rigor- 
ously repressed. Keep the subject steadily gazing 
at the object in his hand or counting his pulse as 
long as possible. Five minutes is the average time, 
but the longer the better. During this time you 
remain standing, silent, gazing steadily at the sub- 
ject. 

After three or four minutes have passed com- 
mence making the passes. These should be pre- 
viously practiced. Throw your hand in the direc- 
tion of the subject's forehead, as if dashing water 
in his face, and continue the passes downward, just 
below the chest. Practice will overcome the awk- 
ward, jerky and exhaustive passes common with 
beginners. In raising the hand to repeat the pass 
avoid turning the back of it toward the subject. 
This has a demagnetizing effect. Passes alone will 
not suffice ; the will must accompany them. The 
mind must be centered on one object, namely, to 
close tightly the eyes of the subject, which he should 
be told to close before beginning the passes. After 
five minutes of this operation place your hand upon 
his forehead, passing the thumb lightly downward 
till it rests on the root of the nose. Eepeat this 
several times, increasing the pressure. The third or 
fourth time press the thumb rather hard, and in a 
firm, authoritative voice, say : " You can't open your 
eyes," willing at the same time that he shall not. 
If he open them, repeat the process of the passes 
till you succeed, which you do sooner or later. 



94: MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

When you have been successful in fixing his eyes 
so that he can not open them, tell him to go to sleep, 
and continue making passes for some time to deepen 
your influence. Let him sleep for a few minutes, 
then awake him by a sharp slap on each shoulder, 
with the exclamation of "Awake!" and two or 
three upward passes. He is now in a fit state for 
phenomenal experiment. 

It should never be forgotten that the will must 
accompany the act. Amateurs, it is said, too often 
lose sight of this and are consequently puzzled and 
disheartened by finding themselves unable to pro- 
duce the results promised them. When once the 
subject has been thoroughly charged with the mes- 
merist's magnetism he is the victim of the sugges- 
tion and control of that will. 

The mesmerist places a stick in his hand, telling 
him it is a whip or a pencil, and willing strongly 
that the subject should see it as such. At first 
reason struggles against the obvious denial of facts, 
but ultimately the superior will becomes dominant, 
and the subject implicitly accepts the assertion, and 
sees whatever the mesmerist wills he shall see. The 
field of illusion here opened is inexhaustible. As 
the subject is a victim of suggestion, the mesmerizer 
can make him believe anything he pleases. 

To undo any effect or remove any impression pro- 
duced, the mesmerizer has only to make one or two 
upward passes and exclaim " Eight," or any similar 
ejaculation. The experimentist must be prepared 
for all sorts of unexpected phenomena. 

The subject may develop hysterical symptoms — a 



HYPNOTISTS AND THEIR EXPERIMENTS. 



95 



common thing with girls and women. Demagnetize 
them at once, awaken and speak to them firmly, even 
sharply. Other subjects sleep very heavily. If 
they are difficult to arouse, dispose them comfortably 
and safely and leave them to sleep off the effect. 
Two, six, or even twenty-four hours may be required, 
but in any case there is no cause for alarm so long 
as no other person is allowed to touch them. This 
should on no account be permitted. The person 
who induced the control can alone remove it. In 
bringing about any delusion on the mind of a mes- 
merized subject, it is necessary to command him 
with considerable authority. For example, it is 
desired to deprive him of his name. Make a pass or 
two down his face and in tones of authority say: 
' You can not remember your name,'* willing strongly 
that he should not. Were you to begin by asking 
his name, the chances are that, unless you willed 
with great power, he would reply. 

N^ever attempt to mesmerize when you feel unwell 
or suffering from any disease, and do not allow your- 
self to be influenced by any one not in apparent 
good health. The higher phases of the phenomena 
should not be attempted until practical tuition or 
extensive theoretical knowledge has been obtained. 
The dangers of mesmerism are sufficiently great to 
be worth avoiding, but are not as great as the igno- 
rant and skeptical assert. A person in the mesmeric 
state can not be induced or made to do any act that 
would be repellant to him in the waking state. 
The state is one of artificially induced slumber or 
somnambulism, and just as one wakens from a bad 



96 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



dream before the consummation of any terrible act 
so the horror of being directed to commit a crime 
would result in any moral person shaking off the con- 
trol of the mesmerist and awakening. It is not pos- 
sible, as some believe, to endow a mesmerized subject 
with attributes foreign to him ; but it is a demon- 
strable fact that a person will perform any act par- 
taking of the nature of an accomplishment much 
better when in a mesmeric state. For example : A 
speaker, nervous and stammering in the normal state, 
could be made to speak fluently while entranced ; a 
smger would sing his very best, and a pianist would 
transcend himself, if put to perform under mesmeric 
control. This may be explained by the removal of 
distracting influences and the deprivation of volition 
which impels them to act as required by the mes- 
merizer. 

When the person is under control as before men- 
tioned, he is only in what is known as a psycholog- 
ical condition, mesmerism or hypnotism being an 
advanced stage of it. In this the subject is easily 
operated upon and can not refrain from doing what 
he is told to do, as he is in that passive condition 
where his mind is controlled by what seems to him a 
more powerful one, and he feels an impulse to obey 
it which he can not withstand. 

It requires considerable experimenting to become 
a good operator, simple as it may seem. When the 
person is under the influence of the operator he can 
then commence his experiments. J^ot only is the 
power of voluntar}^ motion lost, but the senses of 
smell and taste are perverted. The performer can 



HYPNOTISTS AND THEIR EXPERIMENTS. 97 

put the arms of the person hypnotized in motion and 
tell him he can not stop them, and he really can not. 
Tell him to walk the floor, and he is forced to do so 
until he is countermanded ; tell him to dance, and he 
dances ; to sing, and he sings ; to shout, and he shouts ; 
to run, and he runs. You can make him believe an 
onion is a most fragrant flower, or that water is eau 
de cologne ; he may be made to drink water and 
believe it has the sweetness of honey, the bitterness 
of wormwood, the delicacy of wine, the acidity of 
vinegar, or the emetic power of soapsuds. You 
change his identity and make him believe he is a 
woman and take a woman's manner and walk and 
tone ; you can convince him that a cane is a living 
snake; that a chair is a ferocious animal; that a 
handkerchief is a revolting reptile, or that a knife in 
his pocket is getting hot and burning a hole in it ; 
you can show him an old woman in rags, or a little 
boy or girl, and convince him that he has found his 
long-lost parent, and he will embrace them with the 
greatest fervency ; shut his mouth and he can not 
open it ; draw a chalk line on the floor and he can 
not cross it; lay down a penny and make it too 
heavv for him, and he can not lift it. In fact, there 
is no end to the delusions you can make him believe 
in, many of these being devised by the will and inge- 
nuity of the performer. Many persons are very easy to 
put in this condition ; hence this is the reason that 
all prominent professors of this art now before the 
public carry with them one or two subjects upon 
whom they work the most. 

When the psychological condition has been pro- 



98 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

cluced in an individual the mesmeric sleep can be 
brought on almost instantly. The mode by which 
it is done is this : The subject is seated upon a 
chair, and the operator passes the tips of his lingers 
over the subject's eyes, and requests him firmly ''to 
go to sleep." It is usual to put the subject to sleep 
by passes made downward from his head, and to 
bring him out of the sleep by passes made upward ; 
or, mesmerism may be induced directly, in which 
case all that is required is patience and a proper 
disposition in both parties. Let the subject sit down 
in the easiest and most comfortable position. The 
operator should be seated in front, and take a hand 
of the subject in each of his own, looking stead- 
fastly in the eyes of the latter, and allowing their 
feet and knees to come in contact. The room 
should not be too light and everything kept quiet. 
The subject should keep his eyes fixed on those of 
the operator and yield himself unreservedly to his 
influence. If this course is persevered in for from 
ten minutes to one hour, some effect will generally 
be observed in that time. As soon as the subject's 
eyes begin to close and he manifests symptoms of 
drowsiness, the operator should make downward 
passes over the forehead and temples of the subject 
and he will soon be sound asleep. If this effect is 
not produced at the first trial, daily sittings of one 
hour each will in time overcome the most obstinate 
disposition. In most subjects this sleep is simply 
quiet and no further experiments can be made while 
it continues. 

This deep sleep, known as the hypnotic sleep, is 



HYPNOTISTS AND THEIR EXPP:RIMENTS. 99 

used by practitioners with great success in the treat- 
ment of all nervous and mental diseases, the patient 
invariably awaking much refreshed 

We have thus described what behevers in hypno- 
tism claim can be accomplished by it, and what 
startling results can be obtained by some of those 
who perform experiments with it. But just here 
we will say, in adding what is further claimed by 
hypnotists, that the power of mesmerizing persons, 
while it is possessed by only a few persons who un- 
derstand it well, may, it is averred, be cultivated to 
a considerable extent ; yet at the present time there 
are many so-called professors practicing this art who 
are not gifted with this power in the slightest 
degree. Nevertheless their performances upon the 
stage appear to an unenlightened audience to be 
bona tide in every respect. 

It is certain that public mesmerizers make use of 
confederates, who are thoroughly coached up into 
what is required of them to do, and they know how 
to act before they go on the stage. These subjects 
are known in the vernacular as ^'horses," and their 
services can be secured at a salary ranging from 
$5 per week upward. This particular style of 
selecting subjects has many disadvantages, the 
principal one being that some of these "horses" 
are apt to reveal to some of their friends, 
of course as a very great secret, that they were 
never mesmerized at all, but that they simpl}^ 
acted and did whatever they were instructed to do. 
Many alleged professors, through following this 
course of selecting their subjects, have many times 



loo MODERN MAaiCTANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

been subjected to rather unpleasant exposes. Of 
recent date some of these tricksters have astonished 
the scientific men of both continents with their so- 
called effects in hypnotism, while all their experi- 
ments have been accomplished by the use of " horses." 
The performances of these professionals are so much 
alike that the description of one will make all of 
them clear, and it will therefore suffice to describe 
and explain a series of experiments that have been 
introduced and performed by one of these alleged 
celebrated professors and his young lady medium. 
Their performance is certainly the most successful 
in this respect that has yet been introduced, and the 
spectators in every case are completely amazed and 
mystified, and even persons in the profession have 
been puzzled to decide as to whether the medium 
was really mesmerized or not, and their opinion is 
that if she was not in reality mesmerized then this 
pair of performers must take rank as the best per- 
formers that have ever appeared, as everything is 
done so exactly and in such complete unison with 
the other as to make the supposed mesmerism 
appear a reality. 

The performer, having explained to his audience 
the nature of the experiment with which he intends 
to commence the proceedings of the evening, brings 
forward his medium, introduces her to the audience, 
and then leads her to the chair placed in the center 
of the stage. 

Before proceeding further the mesmerizer requests 
two or more gentlemen from the audience to come 
forward upon the stage and to remain during the 



HYPNOTISTS AND THEIR EXPERIMENTS. 101 

various experiments that are to follow, and requests 
them to examine the chair upon which the young 
lady is seated to satisfy themselves that there is no 
apparatus concealed in any portion of it. After 
satisfying themselves of this the gentlemen are 
requested to seat themselves at each side of the 
stage. 

The performer now advances toward the medium 
and makes the usual passes as already described, and 
when she appears to be under the effect of mesmeric 
power he makes the motion with his right hand and 
the medium slowly opens her eyes, fixing them wide 
open upon vacancy. When she has her eyes fixed in 
that way the performer takes a wax match and, hav- 
ing lit it, holds it alight in front of each eye, which 
remains perfectly fixed and without the slightest 
movement or twinkling of an eyelid. The match is 
held before the eyes of the medium until it is burned 
out ; in fact, one Morton thus holds an entire box of 
blazing sulphur matches in front of his lady medi- 
um's eyes. 

The hypnotizer now shows a gentleman's gold 
scarfpin, which he hands to the two gentlemen on 
the stage to examine, and when it is handed back to 
him he slowly advances toward the medium and 
makes a motion with his right hand, and the medium, 
with her eyes fixed and without the slightest 
expression in them, slowly raises her left arm until 
it is brought in a straight line before her, and the 
performer, advancing slowly to her left side, passes 
his right hand two or three times slowly down her 
arm from her shoulder toward her hand ; now tak- 



102 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

ing a firm hold of her wrist with his left hand, the 
performer exhibits the gold scarf pin and slowly 
drives it through the fleshy part of her arm until 
the pin is buried in the arm up to the head, the 
point of the pin projecting through the flesh beneath. 
During this operation the medium does not exhibit 
the slightest sign of pain, and not a muscle is seen 
to move, her eyes still having the same expression- 
less stare in them. The performer now beckons 
to the two gentlemen on the stage to come 
forward and satisfy themselves that the pin is in 
reality passed tjirough the arm of the medium. 
When they have satisfied themselves of this, he 
beckons them to take their respective seats, and 
again passing his right hand down the arm of the 
medium two or three times, the performer takes 
hold of the scarfpin by the head and slowly draws 
it forth from the medium's arm, and after having 
done so, exhibits it to the audience. No blood fol- 
lows the release of the pin. He now releases his 
hold of her arm, and, walking backward a few paces, 
he makes a slight motion with his right hand and 
the medium slowly lowers her left arm again until it 
hangs powerless by her side. Another movement of 
the right hand on the part of the performer and the 
medium slowly closes her eyes, when the performer 
advances in the manner before described and brings 
the medium again to the full use of her faculties. 
This experiment befom being performed must be 
thoroughly practiced, because in the first place it is 
very difiicult to keep sufficient command over the 
muscles of the face, and to prevent any movement 



HYPNOTISTS AND THEIK EXPERIMENTS. 103 

of the eyelids, especially when a lighted match is 
held very close to the open eyes, but after practicing 
a few times the medium will not find it so difficult 
as it appears at first. Therefore when the medium 
has become proficient in this, she will have become 
able to exercise sufficient power over her nerves for 
other experiments which would be more trying still 
if she had not obtained a complete mastery over her- 
self in order to prevent the slightest movement or 
contraction of muscles in any way. 

The experiment with the pin is to the spectators 
one of the most wonderful and marvelous that they 
have ever seen, because the pin used is an ordinary 
gold scarf pin, and is really forced through the arm. 
When it is forced through the fleshy part of the arm, 
however, no blood follows the apparent- puncture of 
flesh, and neither does any blood flow after the pin 
is withdrawn. 

The secret of this marvelous feat is very simple 
when once known. Ladies are in the habit of hav- 
ing their ears pierced to enable them to wear ear- 
rings, and the secret of being able to force a breast- 
pin through the arm rests, therefore, in a nutshell. 
The arm of the lady medium is pierced through the 
fleshy portion in the same manner as a lady's ears 
would be pierced, but in this case the hole punctured 
is much larger. After the arm has been pierced a 
thick gold wire is passed through, projecting beyond 
each side, and this wire is kept in the flesh until the 
puncture has thoroughly healed. It is necessary, 
however, to oil the wire occasionally and to move 
it through the punctured hole several times, to pre- 



104 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIIi WORKS. 

vent the flesh from contracting too tightly around 
the wire in healing. "When the hole is thoroughly 
healed it is necessary to pass the wire occasionally, 
well oiled, through the punctured place to prevent 
its closing and to allow of a scarfpin being passed 
through the hole at any time. 

Professor Donati, now showing in this country, 
places particular stress upon this part of his hypnotic 
experiments, wherein he states that the lady, being 
in a cataleptic condition, can be made to sustain her 
body horizontally, and a heav}^ weight also. He 
then places her extended body on the back of two 
chairs, one being under her shoulders and the other 
under her feet. He then seats himself on her body 
and swings back and forth. This is also a trick, as 
the lady wears a corset of steel, similar to the old 
Aerial suspension now so well known. This supports 
her body entirely in a horizontal position, and it is 
so arranged with sockets and joints that she walks 
about with ease. This is being done in side-shows 
around the country as an experiment in hypnotism, 
but was first introduced some ten years ago in 
Europe as a test of the same. 

There are many other and more remarkable tests 
in this so-called mysterious power of hypnotism that 
are introduced by traveling professors. 

The most mysterious effects can be obtained from 
professionals who have made it a study to invent 
experiments which now interest audiences more than 
ordinary tricks. The present price of the most com- 
plete system is now held at from $200 to $300 by 
gentlemen having the same for sale. Of course this 



HYPNOTISTS AND THEIR EXPERIMENTS. 105 

requires a great deal of study and application, which, 
however, performers are not willing to attempt, 
hence they resort to the use of " horses." One of 
the most noted subjects of this kind was formerly 
known as H. M. Robinson. Many will remember 
what a sensation was created in Chicago some years 
ago, when Robinson came to the front and acknowl- 
edged that he was a " horse " and that for the sake 
of a few dollars per week, which by the way had 
not been paid him, he allowed himself to be prodded 
with needles, burned with lighted cigars, have cay- 
enne pepper thrown in his eyes, swallow the bitter- 
est drugs and submit to all sorts of torture without 
a tremor. Not finding this a successful business 
experiment he resumed his role of a conjurer. 

Many will also remember Dr. Chas. G. Davis, of 
this city, who was censured by the Chicago Medical 
Society for introducing before them several horse " 
subjects, believing that he could really hypnotize 
them. Dr. Davis was sincere in his belief, but had 
not had the experience to see that he was imposed 
upon by these " horses." 

About this time the Kennedy Bros, were coming 
to the front as hypnotists. They also failed in estab- 
lishing their proof as such before the medical gen- 
tlemen of Chicago. Nevertheless they are on the 
road traveling and meeting with much success. One 
of them is at present reaping a good harvest in 
England. 

Some years ago there was quite a prominent 
millinery establishment in the Palmer House on 
State street, Chicago, the presiding genius of which 



106 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

was Mrs. Fulton. She had a bright and lively son 
named Kobert. He was formerly an usher at the 
Columbia Theatre, afterward going out as treasurer 
of the Night Owls Company, and is, no doubt, still 
on the road. One of the first tours he made was 
with a company who carried a mesmerist as the 
principal attraction. It occurred in southern Indiana, 
where the temperance drinks served were too strong 
for the mesmerist, and as the time for the entertain- 
ment approached it was noticed that he would be in 
no condition to appear on the stage. Along with 
the company, in the capacity of property man, was 
a colored man, whowas also themesmerist's" horse." 
Robert had surmised, as he expressed it, that the 
whole thing was a fake, and decided to test it. He 
hunted up the darky and said : '* Here, John, the old 
man is sick and can't perform his act to-night. You 
and I have got to do the business. Stand up and 
let me see you go through it." And Eobert, taking 
an onion from his pocket, said ; " Here is an apple, 
eat it," which the darky proceeded to do with great 
gusto, declaring it a very good apple. Robert then 
continued, " Here is a piece of candy, eat that," 
handing him a tallow candle, which the darky also 
ate with relish. Robert stopped here, telling the 
darky that was enough ; he was satisfied he could do 
his act all right. 

While Dr. Davis may think that he was handled 
without gloves, he can now have the satisfaction of 
knowing that some of his co-laborers have been 
duped worse than he was. An operator known 
as Professor Johnson, a schoolmate of the 



HYPNOTISTS AND THEIR EXPERIMENTS. 107 

Kennedy brothers, and Kobert Fulton, previously 
mentioned, commenced his career in Chicago and 
has flashed from one end of this country to 
the oth^r as a shining light in mesmerism. He is 
the only man living, as he expresses it, that went 
before an assemblage of physicians and mesmerized 
himself into a cataleptic condition. While in this 
condition he was cut and tortured worse than 
" horses" usually are. For instance : A needle and 
thread was drawn through the skin on the back of 
his hand, which was then sew^ed to his lips and nose. 
Though severe tests were made on him, he appar- 
ently suffered no pain whatever, and a close observer 
could not tell but what he was in a perfect catalep- 
tic state. After a short time he came to and stated 
that he had no recollection of what had occurred. 
Now the fact is that this man was not mesmerized 
at all, and was not in a cataleptic state. He felt the 
pain just as any other mortal Avould. He has 
repeatedly made the following statement : " I have 
done what no other living man has done ; I have 
gone before a college of physicians and put myself 
i n a cataleptic condition and allowed them to cut, 
torture and sew me up. Look at my arms; they are 
masses of scars, every one of which I have felt just 
as much as any other person would. AVhat have I 
done this for ? For nothing but fame and money, 
both of which I have made." 



CHAPTER VII. 



MIND-READERS AND THEIR TRICKS. 

J. Randall Brown — Washington Irving Bishop — Stuart Cumber- 
laud— How to Become a Mind-reader — Seymour — Paul Alex- 
ander Johnstone — Remarkable " Test" by SidMacaire — Lucy 
de Gentry, Her Quick Success — An Aspiring Amateur's Pre- 
dicament. 

Mind-reading began its career in Chicago. The 
sensation produced by it was astonishing, and it has 
not yet " had its day." It has not only puzzled the 
minds of every-day people of the world, but has also 
engaged the attention of scholars, scientific men, 
statesmen, and even crowned heads. The first per- 
son who made any display of it was J. Kandal] 
Brown. He became a monomaniac on the subject, 
experimenting with all his acquaintances, and in- 
forming them of the many wonderful things he 
could do, till they began to think he was pos- 
sessed," as some of them expressed it. Brown's 
first public success, and that which caused hira to 
adopt mind-reading as a profession, was, strange to 
say, on a wager which he made with an old and well- 
known resident of Chicago. He made a bet that he 
could find a pin, no matter where it was concealed, 
stipulating only that it should be within walking dis- 

108 



MIND- READERS AND THEIR TRICKS. 



109 



tance. After considerable speculation as to where 
the hiding-place should be, the gentleman concealed 
the pin beneath one of the rugs in front of the 
Sherman House. Brown was blindfolded, took his 
friend's hand, and, after wandering about, led him 
directly to the spot, much to the man's surprise, as 
well as to the depletion of his pocket-book. Brown, 
feeling assured of s.uccess, now started out profes- 
sionally. He made a tour of the States, creating 
great astonishment, and coining both notoriety and 
money. His success was unprecedented, but he could 
not stand prosperity. He fell from public notice, 
being physically incapacitated for a considerable 
time from following up his profession. About four 
or five 37 ears ago he resumed the stage, and since then 
has been traveling about, giving much the same 
entertainment as formerly. 

Washington Irving Bishop traveled with Brown 
for some time as assistant, and finally discovering 
how the trick was done w^as shrewd enough to go 
abroad w^here it had not yet been introduced. For 
a person having no credentials whatever, and no 
means, Bishop created a most astonishing sensation. 
He required an assistant, and secured the services of 
a bright youth named Charles Garner, who, like 
Bishop, was well posted in anti-spiritualistic per- 
formances. Like his employer. Garner was an 
assistant but a short time until he also became 
master of the art, taking it at once to the continent, 
where, under the name of Stuart Cumberland, he, 
too, made a great success. The public exploits of 
these two gentlemen are well known. Their careers 



110 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

have attracted the attention of many scientific men, 
and much speculation has been made as to the 
cause and effect of their tests. 

The pursuit of mind-reading as a profession (such 
is the claim put forth) does not affect the nervous 
system any more than any other intellectual calling, 
in fact not as much. Although circulars of promi- 
nent mind-readers are, in very large part, exaggera- 
tions of the possibilities of their performance, and 
such as are probably beyond the power of man to 
accomplish, nevertheless, the work may be varied in 
form as indefinitely as the performer's brain is 
fertile of invention. The one essential condition 
which is to be impressed unmistakably upon those 
who take part in the performance, is that the person 
to be led to the secreted article must concentrate his 
mind upon the place where the article is hidden, 
until that place has been reached by the mind- 
reader and himself, and then upon the article itself. 
This mental concentration is required as constantly 
as possible to the end. If the mind-reader fails, the 
fault lies with the subject, for he must succeed, it is 
cTafrned, if the subject fairly complies with this 
single condition. There may occasionally be found 
an individual incapable of prolonged or even brief 
mental concentration, because of great trouble, loss 
of fortune, or ill health* Such subjects are always 
to be avoided if possible, as the accomplishment of 
the trick with them is exceedingly improbable, if 
not altogether impossible. 

It follows then that thehest minds available should 
always be chosen. The mind-reader has then noth- 



MIND-READERS AND THEIR TRICKS. Ill 

ing to do but to establish physical contact between 
himself and his subject, and, after starting a motion 
of his body in any direction, quietly surrender him- 
self to the involuntary muscular leading of his sub- 
ject, when he will find himself led unconsciously to 
the proper place. 

Almost any physical contact will be sufficient, 
although Brown's method of placing the back of the 
subject's hand to his forehead is probably the best, 
because the most impressive. When you have the 
back of the subject's hand to your forehead, start a 
swaying motion around and go in the direction you 
find it easiest for the subject and yourself to move ; 
go and you will be led to the place. If you lead 
him in a different direction to the one he is thinkins: 
of, you will find more resistance to moving him or 
his hand. To be blindfolded is not essential, although 
helpful, because it presents the appearance of render- 
ing the work of the mind-reader more difficult, while 
it really assists him in being passive to the leadings 
of his subject, as it shuts out from his mind all 
exterior detractions. The body of any and every 
person has always an inclination, more or less 
strong, in the directions of the thoughts of the mind, 
more especially so if the bod}^ is in motion. For 
instance, if you think of an object on your right, 
accompanying that thought will be a slight motion of 
the body in the same direction. Then place your 
mind upon some other object in the opposite direc- 
tion, and over will go the body accordingly. 

This natural law of mutual dependence between 
mind and matter — ^or habit of harmony of action 



112 MODERN MAGICIANS AND 'J HEIR WORKS. 



between the brain and body, of man or beast — is, it 
is claimed, the whole secret of mind-reading. It fol- 
lows that all the mind-reader has to do is simply to 
observe carefully the actions of the muscles of his 
subject's hand against his forehead, and follow^ in the 
direction indicated by the subject's muscles, and he 
will find himself led unmistakably toward the place 
upon which the subject's mind is concentrated. 
Having reached the place, the mind-reader will feel 
around with one hand until the secreted article is 
found, and as soon as his hand touches it — although 
he has no previous knowledge of its nature — he will 
recognize it instinctively, for the subject has uncon- 
sciously imparted such information by the relaxa- 
tion of his muscles. As mind is indivisible; or, in 
other words, as it is impossible for a person's mind 
to be in two places at the same time, it is plainly to 
be seen that if the subject honestly concentrates his 
mind upon the article hidden, he can not discover the 
fact that he is leading the so-called mind-reader, 
instead of being led himself. It is obvious from the 
foregoing explanation, that instead of the mind- 
reader being the operator and leading the subject, as 
is generally supposed, he is himself led by the sub- 
ject: hence, the mind-reader is the subject, and the 
subject the operator. To sum it all up, the mind- 
reader " must follow the least resistance." 

The tricks of mind-reading are too numerous and 
varied to be mentioned in this connection, but we 
will give the leading ones : (1) The finding of a 
concealed article, usually a pin. (2) The finding 
of a person thought of. (3) The imaginary murder ; 



MIND-EE ADERS AND THEIR TRICKS. 113 

a number of knives are laid on the table, and 
are considered instruments of death. Any person 
selects any one of the knives, and with it kills, in 
his mind, one of the audience; then conceals the 
knife and the body, the latter imaoinary of course. 
The mind-reader first finds the murderer, then the 
knife, then the party supposed to have been killed, 
and whether it was a thrust or a slash, then the place 
where the body was to be concealed. (4) The love- 
token, very popular with the ladies. A young man 
thinks of a handsome lady present to whom he 
would present a bouquet as a token of love. The 
mind-reader takes the bouquet in his hand, and finds 
the lady, to whom he presents it. (5) The game of 
chess. Two gentlemen are seated at a table to play 
chess; one of them actually plays, the mind-reader 
guesses the play of the other; that is, he takes and 
places the men the other only thought of. A very 
fine experiment. (6) The living picture or tableau. 
Several ladies and gentlemen form a tableau, all in 
different or grotesque positions, and then resume 
their seats. The mind-reader finds each person in 
the order they were called, and places each one in 
the same position they were before, forming the tab- 
leau perfectly. (Y) The finding any number thought 
of, usually of a bank-note. The mind-reader holds 
in his right hand a piece of chalk, and the person 
who knows the number places his or her right haiid 
on the right hand of the mind-reader, thinks first of the 
first number or figure of the series, and the mind- 
reader writes thus the first figure on the blackboard, 
and so on till the full number is written. The hand 



114 MODEEN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



of the mind-reader is guided entirely by the hand of 
the subject. (8) Drawing. A painter thinks of an 
animal, and the mind-reader draws an outline of the 
same. The principle is the same as writing a num- 
ber thought of. (9) To find things placed on a table 
or to select a small object from a large number of 
objects. The mind-reader places the finger tips of 
the left hand of the subject on the finger tips of his 
right hand, moves them thus connected to and fro 
over the articles. The mind-reader can be bhnd- 
folded. When the hand is over the article thought 
of, the mind-reader feels a strong pulsation in the 
finger tips of the subject, and this is always a proof 
that the article is the one thought of. 

These are, generally, the first ''tests" used by 
beginners. Of course there are many others, such 
as the tracing of a route on a map, the driving of a pair 
of horses to find an article, the spelling of names, all 
depending on the ingenuity of the mind-reader in devis- 
ing them. In all cases some kind of contact between 
the operator and the subject must exist. The con 
nection by a wire is quite sufficient in many "tests" 
for an expert, it is declared, but does not prove satis- 
factory to a beginner. The statement which is 
sometimes made that mind-reading can be used in 
detecting crime, is, of course, preposterous, even 
thouofh there is in "mind transference " all that has 
been claimed; for where is there a criminal that will 
comply with the required conditions? It has been 
suggested that mesmerism has something to do with 
mind-reading; and even some " second-sight " art- 
ists in the United States bill themselves as mind- 
readers. 



MIND-EEADERS AND THEIR TRICKS. 



115 



Brown, the originator of mind-reading, has had 
many imitators. Few of them, however, have 
achieved notoriety. One by the name of Seymour 
met with success in museums and variety theatres. 
He had the assurance, however, to claim that he 
originated mind-reading and had practiced it before 
Brown. 

The latest Richmond in the field of mind-read- 
ing is Paul Alexander Johnstone, formerly of Chi- 
cago, but lately a resident of ISt. Paul. He shows 
self-possession by attempting feats tried only by 
those who have had considerable experience. His 
most notable performances have thus far been given 
in Chicago. First, he successfully accomplished, as 
he claims, the feat of driving, blindfolded so as to 
be wholly unable to see, through the streets from 
one hotel to another ; then, still blindfolded, he found 
in a register a page thought of by a committee, 
finishing the "test" by writing the name. After- 
wards, he gave an entertainment in Central Music 
Hall in that city, where he opened a combination 
safe which had been loaned by the proprietors of a 
prominent hotel. Only two persons, it is declared, 
knew the combination of the safe, one of them beino^ 
Johnstone's subject. An account in the Chicago 
Tribune^ a short time afterwards, has this to say of 
Johnstone : 

"If Paul Alexander Johnstone is not a fraud he 
is a most remarkable young man. If he is a. fraud, 
some of the smartest people in Chicago will feel 
sheepish to-day when they know they have been 
deceived by a trick as transparent as the mohair 



116 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

hood which Dr. Charles Gatchell asserts Johnstone 
peered through when he made his famous trip in the 
downtown streets September 10. 

Dr. Gatchell is a well-known physician and is 
editor of the Medical Era of this city. He occupies 
the chair of the theory and practice of medicine at 
the University of Michigan and is a confirmed 
materialist. He doesn't believe in mind-reading or 
thought transference. It was an unlucky day for 
Johnstone when Dr. Gatchell got on his trail. Dr. 
Gatchell followed him in his trip through the streets 
and was confident the alleged mind-reading was 
fraudulent. He had no way of proving it, though, 
till he met Dr. G. F. Butler, a lecturer at Kush Med- 
ical College, whose office is at No. 240 Wabash ave- 
nue. Dr. Butler was a member of the committee 
which accompanied Johnstone, and he had his sus- 
picions. When he had talked with Dr. Gatchell 
and the two doctors had experimented a little, they 
learned, as they think, the secret of the tricks by 
which Johnstone deluded the public and gathered 
more money in a month than most men make in a 
year. 

A week ago last Saturday Dr. Gatchell broke up 
Johnstone's performance at Central Music Hall and 
yesterday he showed a Tribune reporter how the 
young man from St. Paul does the trick. He did it 
more easily and better than Johnstone had done it, 
and he used neither whisky nor hysterics to help 
him out. 

The Tribune reporter and Dr. Butler composed 
the committee which tested Dr. Gatchell in his 



MIND-READERS AND THEIR TRICKS. 



117 



rooms at No. 235 Michigan avenue yesterday morn- 
ing. 

' I will imagine I am Jolinstone/ lie said. Then 
he snapped his fingers and stamped and sweated 
just as Johnstone did. 'Put these gloves over my 
eyes. Now tie them tightly with this handkerchief. 
I want the gloves to be near the optic nerve. Tiiat's 
right. Higher, a little. Now try this hood on and 
tell me if you can see through it.- 

The hood was a double thickness of black cloth, 
and only a faint light came through its meshes. 
The reporter said he couldn't see, and the doctor, 
still imitating Johnstone, drew the hood over his 
own head. 

' Pick out a word in the Century Magazine and 
remember the page.' 

The committee chose the word ' ignorant.' 

'Now take a trip through the hall and down- 
stairs. Pemember the directions and the number of 
steps you take.' 

The committee went out, turned to the right a 
few yards, came back, went down-stairs eight steps, 
and returned to the room. 

' Stand against that wall,' Dr. Gatchell said to the 
reporter. Then to Dr. Butler: ' Trace in the air the 
directions you took. Now the number of steps. 
Now the page in the magazine and the word you 
selected.' 

Dr. Butler did all this because he was the man 
who made the tracings for Johnstone. When he 
had finished, Dr. Gatchell seized one hand, the 
reporter took the other, and the three men galloped 



118 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIK WORKS. 

into the hall. Dr. Gatchell dragged the committee 
to the right, back again, down eight stairs, up eight 
stairs, and into the room. Then he called for whisky 
because Johnstone had called for it. Unlike John- 
stone, he didn't drink it. 

* Pencil and paper ! ' he shouted. 

The pencil and paper were furnished. The doc- 
tor bent over the book and ran through the pages, 
shouting, meantime : ' Give me air.' ^ Why don't 
you keep your minds concentrated ? ' ' Whisky. 'No; 
hold on, boys, I don't want any.' When he reached 
the page he stopped and said : ' Your minds are off 
the subject. Why don't you say this is the page ? ' 

'It is,' said the committee. Then the doctor 
snapped his fingers some more and fainted once to 
give verisimilitude to the imitation and finally wrote 
a Avord on the paper. The word was ' ignorant.' 

The imitation had been successful. The hood had 
been examined as closely as it was examined by the 
committee at the Auditorium Hotel. Dr. Butler 
had made all the test conditions that have ever been 
enforced at Johnstone's exhibitions. At least one 
of the committee never thought of the word once 
after the fun began ; yet Dr. Gatchell had not only 
picked one word out of forty, but one out of 400 or 
500. 

Then he sat down and laughed. 

' Would you like to know how it is done ? ' he said. 
' Look at these two gloves. You see I fold them 
and place them against my eyes. That is John- 
stone's first deceit. It looks like an additional safe- 
guard against fraud, but he couldn't read a mind 



MIND-READERS AND THEIR TRICKS. 119 



without it. Tie this handkerchief about my head. 
Tie it as tight as you can and knot it above my ears. 
Johnstone always tells you to tie it tight, and that 
seems like another safeguard. Without it he couldn't 
do his trick.' 

The doctor's eyes were apparently bandaged 
securely, the strain of the handkerchief falling on 
that part of the glove which rested against his 
contracted eyebrows. "When he raised the brow, 
up went the bandage and the twinkling eyes peering 
out under the gloves saw^ everything in the room. 

^ Now,' he said, ^look at this hood.' With a quick 
motion of his hands he yanked the hood apart and 
drew the outer cover over the reporter s head. The 
cloth was mohair and as transparent as the street 
veils women wear. The committeeman took off the 
mohair and tried on the outer hood. It w^as thick 
broadcloth and as difficult to see through as a 
board. 

' Wait,' cried the doctor. He pulled the strings 
that secure the hood around the neck, and lo ! the 
front seam opened wide. That was all there was of 
it. The apparently supernatural feat of mind-read- 
ing became as simple as the commonest parlor trick. 
There was nothing occult about it. Anybody can 
be a P. Alexander Johnstone so long as the side- 
show draws crowds and green goods are for sale. 

' I have been led to expose this trickery,' said Dr. 
Gatchell, ^ because this man is unseating the faith of 
the people. Bishop was as bad but no w^orse than 
Johnstone. I am surprised that the intelligent, 
cynical men of the world who saw him drive through 



120 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

the streets and pick out the name in the register 
were taken in so easily. I examined this hood at 
Central Music Hall and found it was double. I did 
not have an opportunity to look for the aperture, 
but I am confident I have reproduced the garment 
he wore when I saw him. When he tested the Audi- 
torium committee he made one of the members trace 
the route before he left.' 

*I did that,' said Dr. Butler, 'and I want to tell 
you something in connection with it. When we 
drove over the route first we went to Monroe street. 
I made a mistake when I traced and drew two and 
one-half blocks north," instead of three and one-half. 
That threw him off, and, although I kept my mind 
firmly fixed on Monroe street and he claimed to 
read my thoughts, he turned on x\dams street. That 
was what first made me suspicious.' 

' He watched the tracing through the aperture in 
the inner hood,' Dr. Gatchell continued. ' Then he 
made the committee trace the name and date chosen 
in the Grand Pacific Hotel, and he was ready. Did 
you notice how he drove ? He stood with his back 
bent and his head thrust forward. He could see in 
the broad light of the afternoon every bit as well as 
you can, and you could have driven as he did. When 
he reached the hotel he asked to be sent to a room. 
He remained there alone for five minutes, and when 
he came down-stairs his hood Avas gone. He said he 
needed fresh air. Maybe he did, but the coincidence 
is strange that the office of the Grand Pacific Hotel 
is so dark that one can not read in it through a 
mohair mask. When he had turned the leaves to 



MIND-READERS AND THEIR TRICKS. 



121 



the date Aug. 25, with his eyes close to the book as 
I held mine, he found the name J. G. Butler, Jr., 
which had been selected for the test, and wrote it 
on a piece of paper.' 

*The'^Jr." wasn't in my mind at all,' said Dr. 
Butler. 

* When he went home,' Dr. Gatcheli resumed, ' he 
had what looked like congestion of the brain. I am 
satisfied from the symptoms described to me that he 
had nothing but hysteria and whisk}^ — the kind of 
hysteria a woman gets when she wants to frighten 
her husband into buying a new bonnet for her : 
the kind of whisky they sell at the bar of the Grand 
Pacific Hotel. His pulse was higher. That was the 
whisky. My pulse is over 100 at this moment from 
the exercise I have taken. 

' I propose to show this man up as a trickster, and 
to do this I will make these offers : I wull pay to him 
$500, or I will hand it over to a charitable institu- 
tion, if he repeats the performance of Sept. 10 and 
lets me do the blindfolding. Or, if he will repeat 
the performance, I will do it after him with the same 
committee or forfeit to him $500. Or I will forfeit 
$500 if he will " read " a single word in my mind 
under simple test conditions. I don't knoAV how he 
opened the safe. I can only explain and repeat what 
I have seen him do.' 

The doctor left at the Trihune office a certified 
check for $500. Whenever Mr. Johnstone wants to 
make the trial. Dr. Gatcheli will write a name on the 
back of the check and pin the check to the wall. 
Then, if Paul Alexander Johnstone writes the name 



122 modee:n magicians ai^^d their works, 

on another piece of paper Paul Alexander can take 
the check and place it in his waistcoat pocket. 

A reporter tried to bring the ' mind-reader ' to the 
Tribune office yesterday. Mr. Johnstone looked as 
healthy as a farmer's boy. When told of the test 
proposed his health began to fail. First he wouldn't 
come for money. 

* Hundreds have offered me $1,000 bills if I could 
tell the number of the bills,' he said. ' I always 
gave the number and refused the money.' 

' "Where were these offers made ? ' 

' 0, I don't remember exactly, they were so 
frequent.' 

*Can you name one town of the hundred \ ' 

*Let me see. I think one place was Appleton, 
Wisconsin. No, I'm not sure of that either.' 

When it was suggested that the matter of money 
be waived he pleaded the absence from town of his 
manager, Gooding, and when that obstacle was bat- 
tered down with argument he said he was too sick 
to work. While he talked he grew worse, and when 
the interview ended he looked as if he needed a 
doctor's care. He said Gooding had his hood and 
his bandages. 

Johnstone has made a great deal of money by his 
performances. He was patronized by the Press 
Club and he was taken up by the Union Club and 
many societies to his great pecuniary advantage. 
His last show w^as before the Union Club, and the 
wealthy young men of that organization were spell- 
bound by his phenomenal feats of mind-reading." 

As a sequel to this, we give the following from 



MIND-R^IADERS AND THEIR TRICKS. 



123 



the columns of the Chicago Emning Journal of a 
few days later : 

The doctor who has been 'exposing' Johnstone, 
the mind-reader, walked up to the clerk's desk at the 
"Wellington Hotel this morning, carefully placed his 
satchel, overcoat and umbrella on the desk, hung his 
crooked cane on the register and said to the clerk : 
'My name is Dr. .' 

' Suite of three or five rooms ^ ' asked the obliging 
clerk. 

' JS'o ; I don't want to register ; but I would like to 
ask you a few questions,' said the doctor. 

The clerk resigned himself to his fate, and the 
doctor leaned over the desk and asked in a very 
confidential manner: 

'That safe-opening puzzles me. Did Johnstone 
open that safe on the square, and — ' 

' You have stated in the papers,' replied the clerk, 
'that you could perform the tricks or feats that 
Johnstone did. Now, I do not undertake to say 
anything about his driving through the streets 
blindfolded; but if you will open that safe as John- 
stone did, w^e wdll give you $1,000. At the time no 
one knew the combination of the safe excepting 
myself and the proprietor ; we will agree to keep 
our minds centered upon the combination as we did 
then, and if you can so influence our minds, or read 
them, learn the combination and open the safe, you 
can take out and keep the first $1,000 you lay your 
hands upon, and we guarantee that the money is 
there.' 

That settled tke doubter." 



124 MODEEN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

Quite a remarkable "test'- was once made by- 
Sid. Macaire, formerly of Chicago, but now quite a 
prominent conjurer in Dublin, Ireland. When 
practicing mind-reading, he gave a trunk key to a 
gentleman to hide. It took place at a private house. 
The subject took the key and disappeared through 
the rear door of the house. On his return, Macaire 
took his hand, after having himself blindfolded, and 
led the man out of the house into the yard, back 
again into the basement of the house, then into the 
laundry, where the domestic was getting out the 
family washing, then up to the tub, at which she 
was at work; down into the dirty water went his 
hand, and the key was found at the bottom of the 
tub, underneath the clothes. 

Ladies, owing to their delicacy of touch, make 
excellent mind-reading operators. Is'one of them 
have become prominent in the conjuring profession 
in the United States, but a number have abroad. 

This chapter would be incomplete without men- 
ion of Miss Lucy de Gentry, who has attracted 
more attention as a mind-reader than any other 
lady. She is originally from Russia, and has 
created quite a sensation throughout Europe, as 
she not only performed the same experiments 
that Bishop and Cumberland did, but she did 
them much quicker and with more brilliant success. 
She differs very materially from these opera- 
tors, by her quiet and distinguished appearance in 
her experiments. Her presence, compared with the 
extreme nervousness of the gentlemen just men- 
tioned above, is very striking, as their nervous 



MIND-READERS AND THEIR TRICKS. 125 

condition which they assumed to a great degree 
often left a painful impression on their audiences. 
In her entertainments she would generally take hold 




LUCY DE GENTRY. 



of any small object, the other end of which was 
held by the medium ; for instance, she would use a 
handkerchief or a ruler ; this is similar to some of 



126 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

the original methods used by Brown, who very often 
separated himself from the medium by a short piece 
of stiff wire. A test " which she executed very 
quickly took place in Vienna. A handkerchief was 
tied around her wrist — she being blindfolded — and 
a gentleman who had fixed his tlioughts on a certain 
flower in a large basketful on the table took hold of 
the other end of the handkerchief, and she very 
quickly picked out the flower he had thought of. 

A comical performance took place in Dublin a 
few years ago. The particulars are given by Sid. 
Macaire : 

"After a very successful engagement of Mr. 
Bishop, at the Ancient Concert Eooms, an aspiring 
amateur (who hid his light under the bushel when 
writing to the daily papers scathing and, I may add, 
nonsensical letters, under a no7n de phime^ antago- 
nistic to Mr. Bishop's performances) proposed to 
reproduce the experiments — not, however, by muscle- 
reading, but deception. 

A hall was engaged^ — the night for experimenting 
came — and the would-be exponent appeared behind 
the foot-lights' glare in faultless attire. A test was : 
Finding the pin. The pin was hidden. He searched 
— high up and low down — here, there, and every- 
where — but without success; when the concealer 
suggested to the experimenter to sit down and he 
would surely find it. He did sit down — and he 
found it ! ! — for it was bent and stuck in the seat of 
the chair, after the style most amusing to school- 
boys — and when the gentleman in question felt the 
point of the joke he had not seen, he bounded into 



MIND-READEKS AND THEIR TRICKS. 



127 



the air with tliree good war-whoops — a sanguinary 
yellj which invoked blessings on the man that 
invented pins — and evolutions that convulsed the 
audience from the celestials to the foot-lights." 

Moral : Never profess ability to do what you can 
not achieve. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



INSTANTANEOUS MEMORIZATION. 

The Art of Memory— Instantaneous Memorization made use of 
by Patrizio— Effects produced by Hatton and Roberth. 

" The Art of Memory (Mnemotechny) is," says 
one who has given much thought to the subject, 

the producing of classified mind impressions ; or, 
scientifically, it is the doctrine of the principles of 
this art. By classified mind impressions, we mean, 
to treat ideas in such a way that, at any time, we 
can voluntarily be conscious of one or all of them. 
Thus the Art of Memory can be applied to ali ideas, 
or conceptions, for which we have words, or at least 
such signs, like numbers, which can be translated 
into words. 

" In order to explain our system, let us look first 
at some of the remarkable memories of the past. 
According to Xenophon, Cyrus knew all of his cap- 
tains by their proper names, though later Pliny and 
Quintilian exaggerated this fact into the belief that 
he knew the names of all his soldiers. It is said of 
Scipio that he knew the names of every Eoman citizen. 
Mithridates, a King over twenty-two Nations, held 
court in as many tongues. Cyneas, sent to the Romans 
by King Pyrrhus, learned in one day the names of all 

128 



INSTAlfTANEOUS MEMORIZATION. 129 



the members of the senate, and of all Romans who 
had gathered around it. Hortensius recited all the 
prices obtained at an auction. Justus Lipsius 
offered to recite Tacitus, word for word, a person 
standing near him with a naked dagger ready to 
stab him should he miss one word. The learned 
Venetian lady, Modesta Pozzo, named Moderata 
Fonsa, could repeat word for word any sermon she 
had heard. Brendel, a physician and surgeon at tlie 
University of Goettingen, and known as a learned 
man, could recite the whole ^neid, forward and 
backward. Who has not read of Zacharias Dase, 
the king of mental arithmeticians? His feats of 
memory were confined to numbers, but in them they 
were almost miraculous. All of these persons had 
a natural, innate memory. 

" Now the question arises, can a memory which 
lacks the above natural advantages acquire them 
through art ? This is the important problem which 
Mnemotechny in its earlier attempts has solved but 
incompletely. In its present form, however, it solves 
this problem to a high degree. Being the art of 
mind-impressions derived from the first condition 
and principles of memory, it teaches to submit to a 
voluntary repetition, separately or jointly, all ideas 
which are or can be represented by words. 

Before proceeding further, the question may arise, 
how far we can speak of a history of memory. A 
proper or general art of memory not having been 
known, we can only speak of its history in so far as 
what we understand by Mnemotechny as really 
deserving this name. As far back as history shows 



130 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

there were two methods. The ancient one con- 
nected the picture of what was to be remembered 
with a locality; the modern which gives all concep- 
tions to be remembered only as ideas. In order to 
distinguish one from the other, and both from the 
real or general art of memory, we shall call the first, 
which locates, the locating method ; the latter, which 
reflects only, the reflecting method. The poet 
Simonides, born E. C. 469, is supposed to have been 
the first to connect a conception with a locality, in 
order to impress it on the mind. Pythagoras, a con- 
temporary of the poet Simonides, had perhaps known 
the first beginning of memory even earlier than 
Simonides ; he taught it, and is supposed to have 
derived the knowledge from Hindoo sources, and to 
have spent some time in Egypt. Hieroglyphics, from 
which there is only one step to Mnemotechny, were 
known in Egypt in the earliest ages. The follow- 
ers of Pythagoras were not satisfied to remember 
the events of one or more preceding days, but they 
tried, following the advice of their preceptor, to 
trace them in the order they had occurred. 

" A fragment left by Mimas, one of the followers 
of Pythagoras, speaks of the great importance of the 
science of remembering. First, concentrate and 
exert your mind ; secondly, repeat often to yourself 
what you have heard ; third, put into pictures what 
you have heard — for instance, instead of the glow- 
worm, put fire and lustre ; instead of valor, put 
Achilles and Mars. During the middle ages, we 
have very little trace of the knowledge of memory. 
Under Charles the Great, it was unknown. It came 



INSTANTANEOUS MEMORIZATION. 



131 



to light again in the time of the great scholar, Roger 
Bacon. He wrote a special treatise on memory, 
which was never printed, and is still to be found in 
manuscript at Oxford. In the middle of the Four- 
teenth Century memory was revived in the flourish- 
ing universities and colleges, through the renewed 
interest in study, and the increase of literary inter- 
course. 

"The celebrated Aim^, of Paris, was the first 
scholar of the present century to call particular 
attention to the method known as the * reflecting 
method.' He was followed by the Portugese broth- 
ers, de Castilho; and in Germany by Carl Otto Re vent- 
low, a Dane, who issued a manual on Mnemotechny. 

"Vincent Scherzel, the Bohemian Mezzofanti, 
gives us, in his polyglot lectures, most interesting 
information about the easiest and quick way to learn 
languages. He began his explanations by singling 
out the different sounds in the different tongues, and 
showed that almost every one of our sounds is lack- 
ing in one language or another. For instance, the 
Chinese have no R, the Japanese no L, the Tahitian 
no S, and so on. The roots of the Hottentot lan- 
guage consist of only four singular inarticulated 
smacking sounds. During ScherzePs lectures in 
Germany he showed on a blackboard how the dif- 
ferent nations using different letters wrote down 
their thoughts. He wrote as required, either with 
the right or left hand, showing at the same time that 
the letters written with the right hand can also be 
written with the left, and vice versa. He was vig- 
orously applauded when he began to write with both 



132 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



hands at once. In this way he wrote first to the 
right, then the same to the left, then with the left 
hand to the left, and with the right hand at the same 
time to the right ; then he used the so-called mirror 
writing; that is, reversed, writing with left hand to 
the right in a horizontal line, and with the right 
also in a horizontal line, but upside down. It was 
wonderful to see him write Chinese, in presence of 
one well versed in that language; then Arabic, 
reversed, and then to see him stenograph with both 
hands moving toward one another and from each 
other. The third number of his programme is well 
worthy of our consideration, namely, how to pre- 
serve and strenothen memorv in o^eneral and lan- 
es ^ o 

guage memory in particular. The question whether 
memory is innate, he answered thus: * To have a 
sharp and faithful memory, we must learn it as we 
learn to write. ' 

" As far as the ditficulty of learning Foreign lan- 
guage is concerned, it lies, according to Scherzel, not 
in the lack of memory, but mostly in the lack of 
desire to learn them. One language we do not wish 
to study because it is too easy ; another because it 
is too hard. We are, however, mistaken, for those 
seeming too easy ; that is, those that are related to 
our mother tongue are the more difficult, if we wish 
to speak them correctly. With love for the study 
we can learn a Foreign language in a remarkably 
short time, if we note, besides the most import- 
ant rules, only the most necessary words ; in 
most languages 2,000, or at the most 3,000, 
even in languages which count 20,000 to 30,000 



INSTANTANEOUS >rEM(jKIZATI( )N. 



133 



words. These 2,000 to 3,000 words are quite 
sufficient for any everyday conversation, the other 
words are only unnecessary ballast to the memor3\ 
Scherzel closes his lectures with an interesting dis- 
course in not less than thirty different languages." 

*The trick of Instantaneous Memorization has 
been performed during the past twenty-five years by 
a nmiiber of leading conjurers. The first one to 
make use of it in the United States w^as Patrizio, 
now traveling in Spanish America. Mr. Hatton, of 
Brooklyn, employs it with fine effect in his programme 
of Mental Phenomena. Prof. Eoberth, of Germany, 
made quite a success with it a few years ago, and 
he no doubt developed it to a much greater degree 
than any other performer. 

The following feat of the conjurer has caused 
considerable speculation. It is to run over or look 
through a pack of cards only tw^ice and at once tell 
which card of the pack has been removed and 
secreted. It is only necessary to add quickly and 
correctly. Counting the spots on the cards, the ace 
as one, the Jack eleven^ the Queen twelve, the King 
thirteen, and the others as they are ; there are 364 
spots in a pack of fifty-two cards. Any person can 
take the pack, shuffle them and draw out a card, 
handing you the pack, which, as soon as you receive, 
run over rapidly in your hands, adding up the spots 
on every card ; if the pack consists of fifty-two cards, 
deduct the sum from 364 ; if it is a Euchre pack, 
deduct the sum of all the points from 284 ; the result 
gives the number of spots the selected card has. 

* See Appendix, Note 1. 



131 MODERN MAGICIAXS AND THEIR WORKS. 

Now to ascertain the color of the card, go once 
more through the entire pack and notice which suit 
lacks the missing card or number, thus revealing the 
card to you. Suppose the nine of hearts is taken 
from a pack of fifty-two cards, the remaining fifty- 
one cards will add up 355 spots or points; subtract 
this from 364, and you have a nine as the card to be 
guessed; looking over the pack again to see which 
nine is missing, you find it is the nine of hearts. If 
it is a Euchre pack, the sum of all remaining cards 
w^ould be 275, subtracted from 284 ; there remain 
nine; to find which one, proceed as above. This is 
but one of the many tricks of instantaneous memo- 
rization." 



CHAPTER IX. 



SECOND-SiailT AND ANTI-SPIRITUALIST ARTISTS. 

The Balabregas, Roucleres, Merlins — Prof. Marvelle — Anna Eva 
Fay, her exciting Chicago experience — The Baldwins — The 
Steens. 

Second sight is a superstition or belief, once com- 
mon, signifying a spectral or shadow appearance. 
Certain persons called seers or wizards, were sup- 
posed to possess a supernatural gift by which they 
foresaw future events, or perceived distant objects as 
if they were present. But second-sight in the full 
glare of modern science has faded away and there 
only remains to tell of this worn-out superstition, 
the feats of conjurers known by the same name, 
which are merely a code of signals, or questions and 
answers made up between parties, and diligently 
studied till failure is impossible. This has been 
fully elucidated by its first modern performer, 
Houdin, later by Eobert Heller, and since then by 
many others. 

Among the leading second-sight artists of the past 
ten years in America are the ever-popular Balabre- 
gas. Mrs. Balabrega is what might be called a 
genius. ]N"othing is too difficult for her to attempt. 
Not only does she possess musical talent, but she 

135 



136 MODEKN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WOKKS. 

also shows great skill and patience in handling her 
large flock of trained canary birds, which are the 
delight of all who see them. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
Balabrega, in developing second-sight to the per- 
fection they have, show a great deal of study and 
close application, besides cultivated minds. The 
wife is the first American lady to make a brilliant 
success of it in South America, where she has created 
a most decided sensation, and received unlimited 
praise from the press. There probably is not 
another couple of professionals traveling who can 
give such a varied, refined and pleasing entertain- 
ment as they do. 

Two bright artists who excel particularly in 
second-sight are Mildred and Harry Eouclere. 
Mr. Eouclere was born in Paterson, N. J., June 
3, 1866. Like a number of other professionals, 
he was early interested in magic, and at the 
age of eight had a local reputation as a boy 
magician. He entered the profession in 1878 
as a means of obtaining a livelihood, doing a short 
act in magic. After passing several years in differ- 
ent companies, doing trapeze and acrobatic acts, he 
played the vaudevilles as a juggler, showing a grow- 
ing genius. He finally joined E. C. Taylor, the 
magician, to do his juggling act, and at that time 
began studying second-sight. He commenced to 
work out an original system, which, after many 
months of careful study, was completed, and it is no 
doubt to-day the most perfect of its kind in the world. 
It is unhmited in its capacity on account of being 
able to go from the silent system to the talking sys- 
tem and back again without detection. 



SECOND-SKiHT ARTISTS. 



137 



The professor played a three years' engagement 
with Taylor's Company, and was then connected 
with a number of the leading specialty companies 
traveling throughout the States. He and his wife 
are now playing the leading vaudevilles of America, 
and are the only artists in their line now in the 
United States who have and are playing these thea- 
tres two and three weeks of return dates at every 
house. They are the only performers who stipulate 
in their contracts with managers that, if their act 
does not create a sensation, they do not want their 
salary — rather an original idea, and something very 
few would care to do. 

Miss Mildred Eouclere is of very attractive 
appearance, and is quite a genius, having been con- 
nected with a number of dramatic and comedy com- 
panies, playing singing, and dancing soubrette parts. 
Her wonderful powers of memory were improved and 
cultivated by close application to studying parts. 
She is undoubtedly the only lady on the stage who 
can memorize a letter, or a page of a book, by only 
reading it once, and is, in reality, the only lady 
lightning calculator before the public professionalh\ 
She can figure up a sum of twelve or fourteen rows 
of figures and call off the correct result instanta- 
neously, something no one else does, and which far 
exceeds some clever amateurs, who are able to add 
up four and six rows at a glance. A peculiar exam- 
ple of her powers of retaining any one in her memory 
is the following : While playing in Troy, New York, 
a gentleman who acted upon their committee had a 
charm attached to his watch chain with an inscrip- 




THE EOUCLERES. 



SECOND-SIGHT ARTISTS. 



130 



tion in Greek upon it, which she translated to the 
satisfaction of every one present. Over seven 
months later they were again playing at the same 
theatre in Troy, and the same gentleman happened 
to be upon the committee to assist, and inquired if 
he could ask Miss Mildred a question, which was of 
course granted ; and without any cue or assistance 
from her husband she gave a correct translation of 
the Greek inscription, and also told the gentleman 
the year, month and day of his birth, which she had 
told him before, thus remembering these peculiari- 
ties in a stranger after a lapse of over seven months. 

In addition to his other acquirements as a magi- 
cian. Prof. Rouclere is an exceedingly skillful juggler. 

An entertaining couple who have made quite an 
extensive tonr of the United States, are the Morritts, 
from England. They did not succeed as well here as 
their American brethren, undoubtedly from the fact 
that they are not quick enough. Charles Morritt is 
known as a very skillful sleight-of-hand performer, 
and with his talented wife have been entertaining 
audiences at Mr. Maskelynes, in London, for the past 
year since their visit here. 

Two clever artists in second-sight are Dr. Merlin 
and wife. For eighteen months in the 'city of Bos- 
ton, they have given their specialty of second-sight, 
eight times daily, which our readers will agree is 
remarkable. It is certainly the longest run second- 
sight has ever had at any one place, by any operator 
in this or any other country. Their system is easy 
and natural, and like the Balabregas and the Rou- 
cleres they interest and entertain their audiences. 



14;() MOPERN MA(rICIANR AND THEIR WORKS. 



The doctor has quite a reputation as a skillful anti- 
spiritualistic performer, and with his entertaining 
wife has traveled extensively over our country. To 
show what an amount of study and research is 
necessary for a second-sight artist, we give place to 
the following from the columns of the New York 
Clipjper^ of recent date : 

"Margaret Hayden, w^ife of Dr. A. Merlin, pre- 
sented her husband w^ith a rare and valuable gold 
ring last w^eek. The ring is of solid gold, and is sup- 
posed to have been taken from the finger of an 
Egyptian mummy, whose body was embalmed over 
two thousand years ago. On the inner band of the 
ring appear the twelve signs of the Zodiac, raised 
in gold one eighth of an inch, which would go to 
prove that its original owner was one vursed in the 
science of astrology, or that the ring was worn as a 
talisman or charm. The ring was presented to Mar- 
garet Hayden by a Mr. Morey, of Boston, Mass., a 
gentleman who has made the study of ancient Egyp- 
tian, Roman and Greek coins the hobby of his life, 
and is the owner of a large collection of ancient 
coins. Mr. Morey, having heard of Miss Hayden's 
Avonderful exhibitions of mind-reading and psychom- 
etry, ^vagered with a friend that he could present 
an article which Miss Hayden could not describe. 
His friend accepted the wager, and Avhen the test 
took place Miss Hayden, while blindfolded and her 
back towards the audience, described the ring in 
such an accurate manner, speaking of the twelve 
signs of the Zodiac, and stating their names as is 
understood in the science of astrology, and also men- 



SECOND-SIGHT ARTISTS. 



141 



tioning the fact that the ring was originally worn on 
the finger of an Egyptian mummy, and other facts 
concerning it, which were known only by Mr. Morey, 
that it is needless to add that Mr. Morey was dumb- 
founded by her description, and presented Miss Hay- 
den with what he considered the most valuable relic 
of Egyptian antiquity among his great collection." 

An exceedingly clever performer in the anti- 
spiritualistic line, is Prof. Marvelle. He has dis- 
played a great deal of genius in his tricks and appa- 
ratus, which has not been confined to magic alone, 
as he has taken out valuable patents on some 
mechanical contrivances particularly adapted to 
railroads and laroj-e manufacturing* establishments. 
He excels in anti-spiritualistic work, such as 
rope-tying, slate- writing, materializations, table- 
lifting and mind-reading; and many of his friends 
will remember how he has made them pay the 
expense of suppers, because they doubted his ability 
to find any concealed article. 

J. Randall Browm is at present traveling with his 
entertainment, which he has given successfully for 
a great many years. His tricks are all of the anti- 
spiritualistic order, and he is assisted hy his wife in 
his cabinet seances. 

There is no person living who has created such a 
furore in the spiritualistic world as Miss Anna Eva 
Fay ; in person, a slender, almost fragile creature, 
gray eyes, flaxen hair, always richly dressed, and 
with half a score of rings set with glittering dia- 
monds, she invariably has made a most bewildering 
sensation. I^o woman has ever trod the stage who 



142 



MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



possessed more confidence in herself and her 
language, than this little, vivacious, almost enchant- 
ing personage. The most noted scientists of England, 
whom she s.o cleverly duped, called her a very 
spirituelle being. Her astonishing career, both in 
Europe and America, has been fully explained by 
Truesdell in his book, " The Bottom Facts of Spirit- 
ualism." 

On Sunday morning, March 6, 1887, the residents 
of Chicago were surprised to see the enormous adver- 
tisements of Miss Anna, which appeared in all the 
daily papers. The space taken up by these was 
larger than any amusement enterprise had ever 
occupied before. They called particular attention to 
her " Company of eminent English Mediums in 
Spiritualism, no cabinet used whatever." The enter- 
tainment took place at Battery D Armory, chairs 
being put in for about four thousand, and there 
was room for about two thousand persons more. 
The general admission was advertised as fifteen and 
twenty-five cents, but on arriving at the door, seats 
were seventy -five cents — the same old story. What 
happened inside, and the result, is best told in the 
words of the Chicago Trilmne^ in its issue of Monday, 
March 7, 1887. 

" The medium's hands were firmly bound with 
knotted cords. Stepping from the cabinet, he held 
them up before the audience and said : 

"'Ladies and gentlemen, please examine tiiose 
knots.' 

" ' Ches-knots ! ' yelled a man in the crowd. 
Which remark was received with an appreciative 
howl by the 6,000 people there assembled. 



SECOND-SIGHT ARTISTS. 



US 



It was at the big spiritualistic show held at Battery 
D last night — the biggest show of the season. It 
was probably the biggest and most successful spirit- 
ualistic seance ever held in the United States — suc- 
cessful, that is, from a financial point of view. 

" Battery D was literally packed to the doors, 
probably not less than 6,000 people being present. 
As early as seven o'clock there was a long line of 
people at the ticket-window, and by 7:30 there was a 
double line extending around the corner and down, 
the sidewalk to the Exposition Building, a distance 
of about 300 feet. The advertised price of admis- 
sion was twenty-five and fifteen cents, but when the 
crowd began to gather the price bobbed up to 
fifty cents, the pretense being that this was 
for reserved seats. There was no order inside, 
the two or thi'ee boy ushers being utterly power- 
less to guide the inpouring army. Before 8 the 
place w^as packed like a sardine box, and men were 
clinging to the gallery-posts, window-sills, and other 
places that afforded a possible view of the stage. 
Mr. Pingree, the juvenile husband of the medium- 
in-chief, Miss Anna Eva Fay, had charge of the 
ticket-sellino' business, and lono: after the hall was 
full continued calmly selling ''reser\^ed seats" to the 
still waiting crowd. Hundreds bought tickets and 
tried to get into the hall, but after passing the door- 
keeper and getting beyond the screen which hid 
the throng from those outside found they could not 
even get standing room. Owing to the great crowed, 
it w^as impossible to get back to the box-office to 
demand a return of the money, so Mr. Pingree con- 



144 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



tinued to take in the half-dollars. Finalh^, when 
the struggle and clamor became so great that no 
further sales could be made without the interference 
of those w^ho wanted their money returned, Mr. 
Pingree glided out with his $3,000 or so, and soon 
thereafter appeared smiling on the stage. 

" The attraction for this enormous crowd was a 
Spiritualistic seance, by the 'World-Famous Indescrib- 
able Phenomenon,' Miss Fay, and Miss Fay's very 
clever advertising w^as to thank lor such an attend- 
ance. Dodgers describing her performance were 
lavishly distributed in the hotels and saloons yester- 
day, and the Sunday papers fairly blazed with her 
announcements, illustrated by pictures of ' Bel- 
shazzar's Feast,' ' Joseph's Dream,' and other histor- 
ical Spiritualistic phenomena. Everything was to 
be done in the light. ' A large piano,' said the adver- 
tisement, 'will rise clear from the floor, and is played 
upon without a living soul touching it'; Hhe medium 
Avill be raised from her seat and float in mid-air'; 
' tables will float in mid-air ' ; ' spirit hands and 
faces will be seen and recognized by friends'; and 
a lot more of the same kind — all to take place under 
the electric light on the open stage. 

" About 8:30 a man with a parboiled countenance 
and the general appearance of a Bowery tough in a 
\1ress-suit stepped upon the stage and made a speech. 
He told in florid language how Miss Fay had been 
tested by 'all the great scientists of Europe' and 
had ' astounded the w^orld.' ' The crucial test of the 
galvanometer' (whatever that may be) had been 
applied, and the lady had come out victorious. She 



SECOND-SIGHT ARTISTS. 



145 



had in her possession a 'parcliment of sheep-skin' 
testifying to all tliis, said parchment being signed 
by 'Dr. Crookes, F. K. S., and others.' 'The liter- 
ati of Europe,' said the boiled-faced man, 'have all 
signed it.' 

"By and by the people got impatient and yelled : 

" ' We paid for our seats 1 ' ' Clear the aisle ! ' and 
a dozen .other calls of the same kind. 

" Then a woman near the center got up on a chair 
and made a speech to those around her. She was 
evidently mad about something. At the same time a 
row took place at the south door and blows were 
exchanged. The man on the stage, continuing with 
his speech, requested some persons to come on the 
stage and act as a committee of investifration. After 
some delay, two Spiritualists and a reporter got on 
the platform. The crowd meantime yelled ' Clear 
the aisle ! ' in an almost continuous chorus. 

" Some sort of order was obtained about 9 o'clock, 
and Miss Fay, the world-renowned, in gorgeous 
evening dress, with a train a yard long on the floor, 
swept over the stage. She is a dainty little blue- 
eyed, diamond- bedecked piece of humanity — at least 
she seemed to have lots of diamonds last night. A 
necklet of diamonds, each as big as a bean, glistened 
on her white throat, and several others sparkled on 
her fingers. 

" There was a cabinet, of course. The committee 
bound Miss Fay's hands and feet in approved style, 
after which she was put in the cabinet. In a few- 
seconds she was heard playing a tambourine that had 
been placed on her knees. Then the curtain was 



liC) MODERN MAGICrANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

thrown back and she was found bound as before. A 
dozen or more of the same sort of tricks were per- 
formed, tricks that almost any one of the thirty 
clairvoyants on the West Side can do at the drop of 
a hat. Indeed, many local mediums could give Miss 
Fay points in anything she attempted last night. 

" 'Next came some card tricks. Mr. Pingree held 
cards with the faces to the audience, and Miss Fay, 
from the recesses of the cabinet, called out their 
names. This trick is one that has been very popular 
in the dime museums this winter, but it would pay 
Miss Fay to get a few further lessons in it. D'Alvini, 
the juggler, can do it incomparably better in less 
time. 

Then one of the committee was shut in the cabi- 
net with the medium. That member chanced to be 
the reporter, and his report of the affair is that the 
medium simply took one of her hands out of the loop 
by which she was presumed to be bound and 
scratched some marks on his cuffs with a pencil. 

Then three chairs were placed in front of the cabi- 
net, and George Ober, a volunteer member who had 
been added to the committee and who turned out to 
be a skeptic, took the middle seat, with Miss Fay on 
his left and another female medium on his right. 
The three were enveloped in print muslin, as men 
are when they get their hair cut at a barber's^ 
except that the one piece of muslin covered all three, 
leaving only their heads exposed. The committee 
said there was nothing in the cabinet but some 
flowers and a guitar and tambourine. The cabinet 
was closed — when^ presto ! hands were thrust out and 



SECOND-SIGHT ARTISTS. 



147 



flowers flung on the stage. Mr. Ober subsequently 
proclaimed to the audience — after the show was over 
— that the women held his hands and talked sweet 
to him to keep him quiet, and that the thing was a 
very cheap sleight-of-hand trick. 

^' The Bowery young man also performed some 
cabinet tricks with his hands tied. There w^as to 
have been a third act, but the assembly was so bois- 
terous and guyed the performers so unmercifully 
that the show stopped short at 10:15, being then, 
according to Miss Fay, only half over. When Miss 
Fay began some ordinary table-rapping tricks, rais- 
ing a light table by her hand, and so on, the specta- 
tors howled derisively. 

" ' Chestnuts ! ' said one. 

"'Eats!' said another. 

" ' Where's your piano in the air ? ' asked a third. 
" ' Give us a song,' said a fourth. 
Good hand to draw to — three knaves,' said 
another. 

" • Hello, Balshazzar 1 Give us a bit o' writin' on 
the wall,' yelled some one else. 

" ' I'd like to see the ghost of my half-dollar,' 
shouted another. 

" When Miss Fay and her assistants finally left the 
stage in disgust, a portion of the crowd clambered up 
to examine the cabinet, and in about five minutes 
cabinet, scenery, and properties were a complete 
wreck. There was no row over it ; the crowd simply 
and coolly tore the things down and pulled them to 
pieces. 

"Without question it was the most impudent exhi- 
bition ever given in the city." 



148 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIE WORKS. 

The Inter Ocean of same date says : As large an 
assembly of fools as ever gathered in a hall was seen 
at Battery D Armory last night. For howling 
stupidity it was not to be surpassed. A drove of 
donkeys braying for fodder could not have made a 
more discordant din, nor have exhibited less sense of 
its own interests. The occasion of this heterogene- 
ous and mob-lilce gathering was the appearance of 
Miss Anna Eva Fay in a series of so-called spiritual- 
istic manifestations. Much before 8 o'clock several 
thousand people, the majority of them unruly to a 
boisterous degree, surged into the hall, and, paying 
no attention to the fact that the forward seats were 
reserved, overwhelmed the ushers, took places to 
suit themselves, and swarmed pell-mell into the aisles, 
stubbornly indifferent to the rights or comfort of 
others. In the vain hope of somewhat regulating 
the confused state of affairs, the management had 
the doors closed against the hundreds of others strug- 
gling to get in. Failing in this, the doors were 
re-opened, and another in-surging crowd gave its 
force toward creating pandemonium. After wait- 
ing twenty minutes beyond the time set for begin- 
ning the performance a representative of Miss Fay 
made a dignified appeal to the throng for order. 

Finally when the programme was opened a blatant 
fellow with a Y-shaped bald head and a close-cut 
chin beard began waving his hands and clamoring 
to have the aisles cleared, a feat it was impossible 
for the management to perform, but which the fel- 
low insisted upon, to the interruption of the per- 
formance. His braying set all the other asses 



SECOND-SIGHT ARTISTS. 



149 



going, and bedlam reigned during the entire first 
part of the programme. After this the best people 
of the audience retired disgusted, having been quite 
unable to see or understand Miss Fay's very inter- 
esting and really extraordinary feats or manifesta- 
tions. Half a dozen policemen were needed in the 
hall. Such a mob is only capable of understanding 
the argument that is enforced by the club. Miss Fay, 
despite the worse than unfavorable conditions against 
Avhich she worked, gave exhibitions that baffled the 
wisdom of the well chosen committee on the stage 
with her. The facts that all she does occurs in the 
full light of the stage, and that most of her feats are 
performed without the aid of the cabinet, mal^e her 
entertainment unusually bewildering and attractive, 
giving some color to the claim that she is aided by 
an " unseen force," whatever that force may be. The 
exhibition is one that the intelligent public would 
enjoy under favorable conditions, and when Miss 
Fay appears in Chicago again it is hoped she will 
not be overwhelmed by a concourse of idiots." 

Two very clever entertainers in the anti-spiritual- 
istic line are Prof. S. S.Baldwin and his wife, Clara 
Baldwin, who have traveled quite extensively in 
our country, but for quite a number of years have 
been traveling throughout the Orient, and at pres- 
ent are having much success in Australia, where his 
bills state that he is giving " the funniest entertain- 
ment on earth." 

Before closing this chapter we, perhaps, ought to 
mention a couple of performers who style themselves 
"Prof. Charles and Martha Steen." An idea of 
their performance can be gathered from the follow- 



150 MODKRX MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

ing extract taken from the columns of the Chicago 
Tribune, at the time of their engagement in the 
Central Music Hall, of Chicago, some time ago: 

" A little thin man and a large fat woman, who 
are known as ' Professor Charles and Martha Steen,' 
and who call themselves ' the exposers of spiritual- 
ism and mind-readers' — whatever that may mean — 
gave a so-called ' colossal silver entertainment ' to 
about 400 people in Central Music Ilall last evening. 
The entertainment was supposed to be an expose of 
the tricks of spiritualism. ' Spiritualism is a fraud 
and not a religion,' Mr. Steen says, 'and anything 
any spiritualist can do I can do. I work by sci- 
ence, and science can beat spiritualism every time.' 

" At least three-fourths of the audience consisted 
of local spiritualists and professional mediums — 
people who may be seen practicing their religion 
every Sunday evening at materializing seances in 
half a dozen halls on the West Side. The proceed- 
ings began by the appointment of a committee of 
seven to sit upon the platform and inspect the tricks, 
but before the show was half over two of the commit- 
tee stepped off the platform and informed the report- 
ers present that the other five were in league with 
the 'professor.' The stout woman was blindfolded, 
and, by the aid of her husband, the professor, she 
managed to tell the denomination of playing cards and 
perform other tricks of the kind. Inasmuch as there 
are from thirty to fifty professional mediums in this 
city who could give the professor and his wife points 
in such displays, the performance could hardly be 
called a success." 

For Heller's Second-Sight Code, see Appendix, Note i. 



CHAPTER X. 



THE VANISHING LADY • "COCOON;" "CREMATION," 
AND OTHER ILLUSIONS. 

The Vanishing Lady — The Magic Husband — The Cocoon — 
Alexaader Harrmann's Decapitations — Vanek's Decapitation 
— Cremation — The " Mystery of She "—The "Lady from an 
Envelope " — The Spirit Bell of Prof. Alkahazar — The 
'* Amphitrite" Illusion. 

'No illusions of the past ten years have attracted 
more attention than those introduced by Prof. 
Buatier — The Vanishing Lady, and The Cocoon. 
The first notice taken by the English papers of the 
trick of The Vanishing Lady was the following: 

" The Figaro, the most popular newspaper of the 
French metropolis, invited a very select number of 
notabilities last night to be present at the first 
appearance in Paris of a marvelous conjurer and of 
a singularly complete Eussian Choral Society. The 
name of the ' illusioniste,' as he calls himself, is 
Buatier de Kolta, and he is a Hungarian by birth. 
His tricks were all original and perfectly incompre- 
hensible even to the adepts assembled to criticise 
them. I will only attempt to describe one, which 
thoroughly puzzled all present. After spreading a 
newspaper on the floor he placed a chair upon it, 
and then asked a young lady to sit down. He threw 

151 



152 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

over her a piece of silk, whicli barely covered her 
from head to foot. He then rapidly removed the 
draper}^, and the chair was empty. As soon as the 
amazement of the spectators gave them time to 
applaud, the young lady w^alked on from the side, 
and bowed her acknowledgments. There certainly 
was no trap in the floor, the chair was of the ordi- 
nary kind, and the trick was done in a strong light. 
The lady, in fact, disappeared before the very eyes 
of the audience ; but so quickly was the trick done 
that no one present saw her escape. Dexterity could 
surely no further go." 

Buatier, the first person who introduced the van- 
ishing lady, undoubtedly performed it better than 
any other person. He has been credited as being 
the inventor of the trick, but we learn on very good 
authority that this statement is not borne out by 
the facts. Diligent inquiry shows that he purchased 
it from a poor Parisian mechanic at a ridiculously 
low price, the inventor being compelled to sell it to 
get food to keep himself and family alive. This is 
only another instance where management and skill 
have taken all credit away from the inventor, some- 
thing very common in the magical business. Mr. 
Maskelyne, in introducing Prof. Buatier to his 
London audiences, made the remark that the trick 
was very common in the hands of all classes of 
professionals, but that instead of being vanished by 
them she was simply murdered. This was very 
true, because not over half a dozen professionals 
did the trick as it should have been done, and there 
were hundreds who attempted it. 



THE VANISHING LADY. 



153 



The vanishing lady was first introduced in this 
country by Professor Adolph Seeman, son of the 
renowned Professor, Baron Hartwig Seeman. He 
produced it twice each evening at two theatres in 
Chicago, and made quite a success with it. 

An amusing occurrence took place at the town 
hall, in Longton, England, where the conjurer, Mr. 
Dexter, Was exhibiting it. The vanishing lady was 
advertised to disappear at ten o'clock. At nine fifty- 
five, as Dexter was crossing the stage, he suddenly 
disappeared. By mistake he stepped on the trap 
prepared for the vanishing lady. When ten o'clock 
came, the spectators ceased to wonder how it was 
done. 

Before describing the trick of the vanishing lady, 
it might be well to speak of a fix a would-be con- 
jurer once found himself in, in a dime museum in 
Chicago. The proprietors of this museum had gone 
to considerable expense, and issued a very fine 
lithograph, representing the illusion, in which they 
showed the chair on the newspaper, and a gentle- 
man in the act of covering the lady seated on the 
chair with a large silk cover. It attracted consider- 
able attention, and the first time the iJlusion was 
performed at the museum, there were present several 
conjurers among the audience, besides a good many 
amateurs. To the surprise of all, the conjurer, who 
was unknown to fame, and was evidently making 
his bow to an audience for the first time, introduced 
the antiquated Sphinx table, the mirrors of which 
were not well fitted. The lady stood on the top of 
this table and was covered with a large sack that 



154 MODER$i MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

had been fastened to the top of the table, and which 
was pulled up around her by a string running up to 
the ceiling and going over a pulley there, and down 
behind to an assistant. The lady was, of course, to 
go through a trap in the table while concealed by 
the sack ; the signal was given, the string let loose, 
down came the sack, and, to the surprise of the 
audience and the discomfiture of the performer, there 
stood the lady in full view of the spectators, who 
could only see the upper part of her body, the lower 
half of course being invisible, as it was concealed 
by the mirrors ; the trap in table was not large 
enough to allow her to get through quickly. The 
audience left at once, making many remarks not 
complimentary to the conjurer nor the management 
of the museum. 

The ordinary manner of working the trick of the 
vanishing lady, is to have a chair made so that the 
seat lets down backwards or sideways on spring 
hinges that throw it back into position, after the 
person has gone through. A little lever on the side 
of the chair underneath keeps the seat solidly in 
position. The back of the chair is either upholstered, 
or of thick double cane, in order that it can not be 
seen through. Hanging down the back is a wire 
frame which can be thrown up over the back of the 
chair, to represent the head of the person when it is 
covered with a cloth. When this cover is removed 
the frame is thrown back behind the chair back. In 
some chairs this must be done with the hand, in 
others it is done by stepping on a lever at the back 
of one of the hind legs of the chair, which works a 



THE VANISHING LADY. 



155 



wire or a string stapled up the back of the chair, 
and thus throws back the framework of the head 
and shoulders. A newspaper is cut to fit the trap 
in the stage, and laid on the floor, the other uncut 
half of it is pulled over to the front and chair placed 
on the cut part, which is cut around only three sides 
of it. 

Lady seats herself on the chair, and the performer 
covers her with a large silk covering, that covers 
her and chair completely ; at the moment of cover- 
ing she lets the framework come up over her head, 
and pulls the lever under the chair, at the same 
time rising slightly to let her own weight off the 
chair, and the seat goes down with the trap, she 
with it through the trap which is shut at once, the 
performer in the meantime standing or holding on 
the silk covering to prevent it being blown up by the 
wind from trap. At proper moment he takes the 
cover off and the lady has disappeared to come on 
smiling from the side. 

In doing this trick in any room without a stage, 
the same chair can be used, or, what is better, to 
make it so that the back of it opens, and the lady 
goes directly backwards, a large ornamental screen 
must be used. This screen has three or more folds, 
each fold at least six feet high and from two and a 
half to three feet wide, three feet the best. Cover 
all the folds of this screen w^ith any fancy pattern of 
cloth ; cretonne, or fancy Japanese patterns. In the 
lower middle part of the middle fold, make a com- 
mon double flap door, opening backwards on strong 
spring hinges at the side of each flap, which are 



156 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

screwed to braces or cross-pieces in frame. This is 
all neatly covered and cut out so it will work well 
and easily, and must not be seen at a distance of 
three feet. Bring the screen on the stage first, show- 
ing it both back and front, and place it in position, 
bringing the side folds around to the front, to 
inclose a space as much as possible, and to prevent 
people who are close to the sides from seeing; in 
some cases it will be necessary to have several folds 
for this purpose. Place a borrowed newspaper on 
the floor, and place the chair on that, having both 
well back up to the middle fold of screen. Lady 
seats herself on the chair, performer takes the silk 
covering and standing up in front of the lady, holds 
his hands wide apart, as though to cover her and to 
show the size of cover, letting the cloth reach down 
to the floor ; at this moment the lady pulls up the 
head work at the back, and swings around off the 
chair or goes through the back of it, and quickly 
makes her disappearance through the door in the 
screen, and stands behind it or makes her way off 
from that point. This must be and can be done in 
a moment, and the instant she has gone performer 
drops the cover over the chair. The remainder is 
the same as with the trap chair. This manner of 
working it has in many cases some advantages. 

A German professor has written a poem on the 
advisability of ladies having husbands who are pro- 
fessional magicians, bringing in the vanishing lady 
idea. 



THE VANISHING LADY. 



157 




The nicest husband in the 
land 

Is one who lives by sleight- 
of-hand. 
At morn, for instance — 

one, two, three, 
Coffee and cream are flow- 
ing free; 
And with a few more 

n.agic thumps, 
He fills the sugar-bowl 

with lumps, 
"While sausage, rolls and 
all of that, 
He takes, of course, from his old hat. 
Though there may be of wood a dearth. 
He builds a fire upon the hearth ; 
And turns a pair of worn-out shoes 
To beef as good as one could choose. 
All else that at a feast would please, 
He from a nightcap takes with ease; 
And without trouble or 
ado, 

Himself can roast, or boil 

or stew. 
At noon and evening 'tis 

the same, 
She cares for naught, the 

lucky dame. 
Whate'er is needed for her 

use. 

His magic wand will 

quick produce; 
Fresh toilets in the newest 

style 

Are ready in a little while; 

Wraps, gold and jewels; in short, all 
That she may long for, great or small. 
Scarcely has she the wish complete, 
Before he lays it at her feet . 




158 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

And yet — you'll wonder it should be — 
The two will sometimes disagree, 

And whatsoe'r he may 

provide, 
She will remain unsatis- 
fied. 

In such case, as in others, 
too, 

His sleight of -hand will 
lielp him through; 
If unendurable grows she, 
A cloth thrown o'er her — 

one, two, three — 
And silently she disap- 
pears; 

The liousehold war no 
more one liears. 

The most ingenius illusion Baatier has introduced 
was certainly that of the Cocoon, and the perfection 
of that he owes in a great measure to the mechan- 
ical skill of Mr. Maskelyne, of London. This has 
been and is still a leading feature with all prominent 
conjurers. A patent for the same was taken out in 
England, but not in this country. Several explana- 
tions of it have been given from time to time in the 
press, but none of them have been correct. The 
true explanation of it is as follows : The performer 
stretches a ribbon across the stage, looping it over a 
hook at each side. To each end of the ribbon is 
attached a small bag filled with sand, which has pre- 
viously been examined by the audience. He then 
calls their attention to a framework of light wood or 
cardboard about three or four feet square and a foot 
deep. There is no cover to it, and the bottom is 
formed by a large piece of plain paper stretched 
over it. After this is also examined it is placed 




THE COCOON. 



159 



in the center of the stage, the ribbon is pulled 
down at about the middle of it and is fastened 
to one or two hooks in the top part of the frame, 
which is lifted up. The sacks at the ends of the 
ribbon apparently keep it suspended horizontally in 
the air, some distance above the floor. The per- 
former draws on the paper a sketch of the silk- worm, 
and as soon as he waves his wand the paper bursts 
and a large, bright, silk cocoon is seen in the frame. 
A stool is placed underneath it, the frame lowered 
by slacking up the ribbons, and as soon as it touches 
the stool it bursts and from the inside of the cocoon 
appears a charming woman dressed in the costume 
of a butterfly. 

The cocoon is made of fine silk and is stretched 
over an oval, or rather round, framework of iron. 
It is large enough to allow a person to sit in it Turk- 
ish fashion, and opens on one side. This cocoon is 
hung on two fine wires, on the other ends of which 
are fastened the proper counterweights to balance 
the woman and the frames. These wires lead up 
through the stage 
to the flies and 
over rollers or 
pulleys to the 
cou nterweights. 
After the per- 
former has placed 
the ribbon in po- 
sition he places 
the framework 
on which the pa-, 

per is stretched"" the cocoon. 




160 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



in the middle of the stage on the carpet, and while he 
is pulling the ribbon down to fasten to it, the assist- 
ant below opens a trap in the stage floor, and a flap 
cut in the carpet, and pushes up the cocoon which 
contains the woman and which the performer fast- 
ens in the framework. !N"ow he has only to touch 
his hand to the framework and his assistants pull 
down the counterweights, thereb}^ raising the frame- 
work and the ribbon, which now apparently sup- 
ports all. The rest is clear. At the proper signal 
the lady bursts the paper and the assistants lower 
all onto the stool, and the trick is done. Some per- 
formers use a windlass to wind up the wires. When 
proper wires are used on a brightly illuminated stage, 
they are absolutely invisible. 

For a number of years the masterpieces of Alex- 



padded and has two silk cords running crosswise on 
it, one from the inner edge of either arm up to the 




THE DECAPITATION CHAIR. 



ander Herrmann have 
been his two decapita- 
tions. The first one he 
usually used in his mag- 
ical sketch, where a 
countryman with "a 
sorter buzzing" in his 
head has it cured by 
cutting off the offend- 
ing member. The sub- 
ject takes a seat in a 
high back, upholstered 
chair. The long back 
of the chair is thickly 



Herrmann's decapitation. 



161 



top corner of the opposite side, thus making a broad 
X. The subject being seated in a chair, a large 
helmet or "receiver" is placed on his head. This 
helmet is of any bright metal, has a vizor in front, and 
is open at the back. After it is placed over his 
head the vizor is lifted to show that the head is 
there, but in reality a dummy head is seen, made up 
to represent the subject. As the performer closes 
the vizor he tilts the helmet forward a little, while 
the subject at the same moment draws his head 
out of it and presses it back against the back of the 
chair, which gives way under the pressure and a 
triangular space opens, the two sides of which are 
formed by the lower portion of the X in the pad- 
ding, the base being on a line with the chair arm, 
where this swinging portion of the back is hinged 
on. On this flap, the opening of which is concealed 
by the receiver and a towel placed in front of it to 
hide the blood (?), rests the 
head of the subject. The 
receiver is now removed and 
placed on a small cabinet, 
the towel being left at the 
neck of the subject in the 
chair. In a moment the 
receiver is removed from the 
top of the cabinet, and the 
head is seen resting there ; 
it moves and speaks, and is 
the head of another person 
made up to represent the 

first one, and who sits be- decapitation cabinet. 




162 



MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



hind the mirror in the cabinet, and pops his head 
up through a hole in the top of it as soon as the 
receiver is placed there. This cabinet is shaped like 
a safe, and contains several apparently deep shelves. 
In reahty the shelves are shallow, a mirror of proper 
size being placed in it, in such a position as to leave 
about four-fifths of the cabinet vacant. 

The very latest decapitation is the one now 
beino^ used bv Herrmann in his "Black Art." 
In "Black Art" the stage is peculiarly set, the 
interior, from the first to the third groove, being com- 
pletely hungin black velvet or felt, back, top and sides. 
In place of the ordinary foot-lights a row of gas-jets 
is usualh^ placed across the stage just on a line with 
the inside of the boxes, and another row carried 
around, but outside of the arched entrance to the 
black chamber. The effect of this arrangement of 



a pretty woman in evening dress. This latter being 
Mrs. Herrmann, dressed in a peculiar way. She 
first clad herself in a black domino of the same 




light and shadow throws 



'I fl't<7/\v //|\ '/iiN '/p- //r' ^n^^'W^" 

BLACK ART DECAPITATION. 



^the stage into impene- 
p| trable gloom. Herrmann 
Kappears suddenly clothed 
E|in white. Then Mephis- 
p topheles appears so sud- 
m denly that it seems as if 
1) he had jumped out of 
|| space, but really coming 
through an opening in 
^the black cloth. Then 
comes a light cloak and 



HERRMANN^S DECAPITATION. 



163 



material as the stage hangings, leaving her arms and 
head free. Over this she slips a framework of light 
wire covered with a fine evening dress. This frame- 
work has no back and she can slip out from it 
behind, leaving the sheil with dress. For the lady 
to sit on, two pedestals suddenly appear. These are 
white, and appear by having a cover of black pulled 
from them quickly. One of these is about two feet 
high and the other about five feet high. The lady 
sits on the smaller one and Mephisto orders Herr- 
mann to cut her head off. After some demurring 
he finally seizes a carving knife, places a light cloak 
over the lady's shoulders and cuts off her head. 
Taking it with one hand under the chin and the 
other holding her hair, he carries it across the stage 
and places it on the other pedestal, she walking 
along with him, having slipped out behind the frame- 
work, leaving it upright on the smaller pedestal. 
She walks across the stage in her black domino, or 
behind a black screen shoulder high, only her head 
showing, and finally stopping with her head on the 
pedestal that is about five feet high. To replace, 
the same gliding back is again employed, and she 
again resumes her dress case, and the trick is over. 

A San Francisco writer gives the following de- 
scription of the decapitation introduced by Yanek : 

"The first illusion of this sort seen here was that 
shown by a man calling himself Professor Yanek, 
who exhibited at Platt'sIIall, in July, 1873. He was 
a German and spoke very little English, while in the 
decapitation act he appeared in an Oriental costume 
and spoke none at all. The hall was darkened, a 



164 



MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



strain of weird music was wrung out of the piano, 
which in those days " went with the hall," and to 
its rhythm the magician marched slowly on to the 
stage, accompanied by a pale-faced youth. The 
attendant laid himself upon a table in the center of 
the stage, and was there sent to sleep by being sub- 
jected to mesmeric passes. The magician then drew 
a small box from the recesses of his robes, and from 
it took a pinch of powder, which he sprinkled on the 
youth's face and neck. A cloth was then arranged 

about the victim's 
neck, and everything 
being ready, Yanek 
drew a scimetar, or 
tulwar, sent it hissing 
through the air, and 
with one sweep drew 
the blade across the 
youth's neck, sepa- 
rating it from the 
body. The head was 
lifted up Avith the 
blood streaming from it, and placed upon a salver 
to be - handed around for the company to examine.' 

" The examination was not superficial nor hasty, 
people being invited to put their fingers in the open 
mouth and move the closed eyelids. The ghastly 
death's head was then taken back and joined to the 
body, the magic powder being once more brought 
into requisition, and the subject, being awakened, sat 
up, looked dreamily around and backed off the stage. 
" The explanation is as follows : The table was 




VANEK S DECAPITATION. 



vanek's decapitation. 



165 



really a long, hollow box, covered on the top and 
sides with black cloth and with the interior painted 
black. In the top of the table, and under where the 
head and shoulders of the youth would lie, was a 
trap-door, which gave way under pressure and swung 
downward like a door, and which was closed by a 
spring as sodn as the pressure was removed. Every- 
thing being blacK it will be clear to the reader that 
it might be opened or closed without any one in the 
audience being the wiser. 

"Before the trick was introduced the trap was 
depressed and a rubber head placed in the cavity of 
the table. This head was a work of art. It had all 
the lividity of death, was fitted with real teeth, real 
hair, glass eyes, a flexible tongue, movable eyelids, 
and was soft and clammy to the toucli. The assist- 
ant was Vanek's son, and the head, made by a cele- 
brated French artist, was a striking likeness of the 
lad. The head was placed on a plate on the table, 
having for companion 
objects a lump of ice to 
give the head the requi- 
site clamminess, and a 
sponge dipped in ' prop- 
erty' blood. The 'sub- 
ject ' for the experiment 
having been laid on the 
table, the magician, 
standing with his back inside view vanek's table. 
to the audience, seized his son by the hair with his 
left hand, and, as the scimetar went whizzing through 
the air, pressed down the trap until his son's head was 




166 



MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



below the level of the top of the table and brought 
the sponge and rubber head up to take the place of 
the living. The scimetar was then drawn across the 
victim's neck— only just above it — and the rubber 
head was held aloft with the blood dripping from 
the pressed sponge. The head was then boldly passed 
about, the magician shrewdly counting upon the dark- 
ness of the room and the aversion of the audience to 
handling dead things as sufficient guarantees against 
detection. The rest of the trick simply consisted of 
putting the head back in the table, bringing the 
victim's head up to the proper level and removing 
the cloth which had conveniently hidden the line of 
deflection in the neck and the slight sinking of the 
shoulders. It will be seen from this explanation that 
the trick was simple enough, but like all simple 
tricks it was very effective, and in this particular 
instance was realistically horrible." 

An illusion that has attracted a great deal of 
attention, and one that has been properly shown but 
by very few conjurers of late years, is the one known 
as Cremation. The ^vord Cremation means the 
burning of a dead body; hence, no prominent pro- 
fessor has shown a cremation, as the act used which 
represents the burning of a person alive is not a cre- 
mation. Charles McDonald, of Portsmouth, Ya., was 
the original inventor. For several years he spent 
his spare time in working at this illusion and finally 
perfected it. The effect of it as worked by him is 
startling: A fine casket is shown to the audience and 
examined inside and out by a committee appointed for 
that purpose by the audience. It rests on two ordi- 



CREMATION. 



167 



nary trestles and has no connection with the floor of 
the stage. The cover is opened and a lady is assisted 
into the casket, and lies down in the same. The 
(^.over is closed and the audience can see her lying 
there through a glass opening in the front of the 
casket. A black velvet cover, trimmed with silver 
fringe, is laid over the casket, candles are lighted and 
placed underneath the same. A sword is passed 




PROF. MCDONALD'S (JllEMATION. 



down through the top of the casket, the point com- 
ing out underneath, down which the blood runs; 
swords are also thrust into the casket from the front, 
and reach to the back; during this the lady is con- 
stantly screaming. In a moment the lid of the cas- 
ket is raised and the whole interior set on fire ; it 
blazes up very briskly for a few moments, gradually 
dying out, when some ashes are taken out and shown 
around as being the ashes of the cremated person, 
the coyer meantime being closed again, and on 



168 MODEKN MAGICIANS AND THEIfl WOEKS. 

re-opening it the lady steps out uninjured. When 
properly made this casket can be used for introducing 
the illusion on any stage, in any parlor or even in the 
open field. 

Professionals reading the foregoing, would think 
that the casket is constructed on the plan of the old 
Hindoo basket trick, but such is not the case, as 
there is no double back, bottom, nor sides to it, and 
the mechanical skill used in its invention and manu- 
facture is far ahead of similar effects contrived by 
the much vaunted Indian fakirs, or jugglers. Out of 
consideration for its inventor, who has scarcely 
obtained the success he deserved, we will not reveal 
the secret of its construction. Following the general 
idea shown in the one he first made, that is, to 
obtain the effect, the first one sold and used, was 
made on the plan of the Japanese Inexhaustible Box, 
sometimes called the "tip-over" box. That is the 
full secret which will be clearly understood by all 
professionals, but the skill shown was in making it 
in such a way that it would bear examination inside 
and out, and all around, without being detected, 
which has been done very successfully. The only 
objection to the illusion in the style just mentioned, 
is its realistic feature, it making such a sensation that 
ladies among the audience have often fainted during 
its performance. This has caused it to have rather 
a limited sale. 

Coming at a time when the attention of the 
scientific world has been attracted so much to crema- 
tion, the advertising of this illusion naturally attracted 
the attention of conjurers generally, many of whom, 



THE MYSTERY OF SHE." 



160 



desiring to have it, but not willing to pay a good 
price for a good article, or, from lack of necessary 
means, began to get up imitations of it, and they 
were soon being presented by the score all over the 
country. The first one produced with any degree 
of success, under that name, was shown by Prof. 
Seeman who had performed it for nearly two years 
before any other person took hold of it. His man- 
ner was the use of the Sphinx table, on which the 
lady stood, and was covered with a sack. This sack 
was set on fire and burned slowly down to the table 
top. When it was all consumed the lady reappeared 
from the side of the stage. 

This was soon followed by others, Prof. Powell 
making use of a similar method ; but his table had 
four legs instead of three. Prof. Kellar then adver- 
tised a Cremation of his own invention, which was 
at once followed by Prof. Herrmann doing the same. 
Kellar's was made up for him by his assistant Pobin- 
son, who afterwards went with Herrmann. This 
Cremation was evidently not a success as it was not 
produced in any of our large cities while that of 
Herrmann's was. Both these magicians depended 
upon the ingenuity of their assistants and their talent 
in working it out. Herrmann's was gotten up by his 
co-laborer, D'Alvini, who was the main-stay and life 
of the illusion. The success obtained with it, came 
entirely from his genius and talent; sad to say, he 
did not live long enough to enjoy the results of his 
invention. 

The illusion of ''She" was first introduced by 
Prof. Hercatj in London, w^ho called it " The Mys- 



ITO MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIE WORKS, 

tery of She." He used a raised platform about a 
foot high. Around the two sides and the back of 
this platform he placed a red screen, resting on the 
floor, the platform carpet as well as the stage carpet 
being the same color as the screen. On the platform 
was placed a small brass stand, and a large bowl 
shown empty and some ashes put in it was placed 
on the brass stand. After showing to the satisfac- 
tion of the audience that no mirrors were used, he 
took a large silk cover or curtain and stretched it 
with an assistant across the front of the platform 
between the sides of the screen, letting it reach to 
the floor ; in a moment this curtain was either pulled 
away or dropped, and a lady dressed in white stood 
on the platform who came out and spoke, and as 
soon as the curtain was held up m front of the plat- 
form again she disappeared. We should say that as 
soon as the bowl was placed on the stand and before 
curtain was stretched across the front, the ashes were 
set on fire causing quite a smoke through which she 
appears. 

Just as soon as the curtain touched the floor of 
stage in front of the platform, two mirrors placed 
together at an angle exactly the same as in the old 
Sphinx table, were shoved up from beneath the stage, 
reaching to the under side of the platform, and, of 
course, reflecting the screen. At the same time a 
trap is opened behind the mirrors in the stage and a 
corresponding one in the floor of the platform, which 
enables the lady to come up qaickl}^ and make her 
appearance. As soon as she has made her disap- 
pearance, the mirrors are dropped back again into 



THE '"LADY FROM AN ENVELOPE.'' 



171 



place beneath the stage, and the platform and screen 
can be easily removed. This same illusion can be 
just as well worked by using a screen which conceals 
the lady all the time, thus doing away with the trap 
in the stage and platform. 

Similar to this is the production of a lady from an 
envelope. This was also first introduced in England, 
whose conjurers seem to have a fancy for traps, some- 
thing that the quick-witted Americans will not use, 
because their audiences can at once tell when a trap is 
used, and then, the principle being solved, it has no 
attraction for them. In this production the performer 
appears on the stage with three large envelopes, 
one inside the other, and states that he carries his 
wife in the envelope to save transportation, as, owing 
to the Inter-State Commerce Bill, heavy weights 
pay heavy freights. While talking he opens the 
envelope and finds another one, opens ttiat and finds 
in it still another, which he opens, and discovers a 
large silk shawl neatly folded up; he opens this, 
letting one side of it drop down on the floor, and 
holding the other side up in front of him, he almost 
immediately drops it on the floor and the lady 
appears standing there in front of him, she having 
come up through a trap just at the moment w^hen 
the silk touched the floor. She can also come 
through a screen as explained in the trick of the 
vanishing lady. Produced this way alone, the trick 
has a w^eak effect, but is quite effective if used in 
some other combination or production. The only 
person who used it to good advantage w^as Prof. 
Becker, who produced it in Germany some eighteen 



172 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS, 

years ago. After the lady had made her appear- 
ance from the trap behind the shawl, he ran to and 
fro across the stage, she being behind it all the time 
and keeping step with hira ; he did this so well that 
everybody thought there was nothing behind the 
shawl till he suddenly pulled it aside and revealed 
the lady. 

It is well known to nearly all conjurers that Mr. 
Maskelyne, of London, has introduced, during the 
past decade, more electrical effects than any other 
magician. A few of these effects have been almost 
identical with the following illusion, invented by 
Prof. Alkahazar, of Ohio. 

This is an electric illusion3 but so arranged as to 
make the spectator believe there is no electricity 
used. The table is small, like those known as gueri- 
don stands, having one center pillar for leg, and 
three feet. The top is of very thin material, and by 
means of a flange screws onto the leg. At the middle 
of under side where the flange is, there is an orna- 
mental knob, ostensibly the flange ; this knob is hol- 
low, and in it is placed a small, clear-sounding bell, 
^yllh an electro-magnet to sound the same. The 
current of electricity passes up one of the feet to the 
leg up which it passes to the magnet which strikes 
the bell. The " run down " from stage to audience has 
a groov^e in it, under the carpet, through which the 
wire from behind stage runs; at the end of the "run 
dow^n " are placed the copper connection plates. The 
feet of table are made so as to pierce the carpet and 
rest on the plates, thus forming the direct connec- 
tion. Another bell, the perfect duplicate in tone of 



THE '^AMPHITRITE ILLUSION.^' 1Y3 

the one in the knob, is shown to the audience and placed 
on the table ; it then rings, answers questions, tells 
cards, fortunes, etc. Then the performer, speaking 
to the audience, thinks that some present may think 
that electricity has something to do with it, but will 




Fig. 1. 



prove to the contrary. He takes a large sheet of 
plate glass and places it on the table, and puts the 
bell in the center of the glass, thus showing it to be 
an impossibility to get sound from it if electricity 
was used. Nevertheless the bell rings the same as 
before. In the language of the inventor, it takes 
w^ell, as all intelligent people know that glass is a 



174 



MODKKN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WOKKS. 



non-conductor of electricity." An illusion that has 
attracted considerable attention, and one of very 
pretty effect is the one generally known as the 
Amphitrite Illusion. There are several ways of work- 
ing this on the plan of the ghost-show illusion. Per- 
haps the best method is the one patented in this 
country and England by Mr. Gustav Castan. His 




Fig. 2. 



U. S. patent is dated September 11, 1888, number 
389,198. The mechanism employed consists of a 
horizontal, rotary disk of glass, which is supported 
at each edge, and serves to receive the person or 
other object to be exhibited, and also of a mirror 
arranged at an angle of forty-five degrees to the 
glass disk. The mirror reflects the image of the 
person or object on the glass disk, but not the edge 
of the same, or the rings carr^nng and surrounding 
said disk toward the audience, and as the transpar- 



THE *'aMPHITRITE ILLUSION." 



175 



ent glass disk is not reflected in the mirror the per- 
son or object on the former appears to be floating in 
the air, and when the glass disk is rotated the per- 
son or object appears to make various movements. 
When the edge of the mirror is appropriately deco- 




FiG. 3. 

rated and the light properly arranged, the mirror is 
not to be detected, and the audience is led to believe 
that the image is in reality the person or object on 
the glass disk. Figure 1 is a view of the apparatus 
as seen from the space occupied by the audience. 
Figure 2 is a top view of the apparatus without the 



176 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

mirror. Figure 3 is a vertical section of the appara- 
tus arranged at an angle of forty-five degrees to the 
glass disk. 

The frame work, the mirror, and other parts of 
the mechanism are appropriately decorated in order 
to obtain the best possible results, and it is evident 
that the glass disk must be so operated that the 
reflected apparent movements of the person on the 
glass disk appear as natural as possible. In order to 
increase this effect the person can move his arms and 
legs, and these movements Avill of course be reflected 
in the mirror. The lights employed for illuminating 
the glass disk and mirror are so arranged that the 
glass disk is not reflected in the mirror.^ 



*For particulars regarding the application for a Patent on a " Spirit 
Room," see Appendix, Note '4. 



CHAPTER XI. 



PECULIAR HAPPENINaS. 

The St. Louis Genius — The Impatient Albany Man — Some 
Remarkable Letters— East Indian Fakirs — What Barnello 
Saw— The Sailor and His Parrot. 

There is perhaps no other business which presents 
such a variety of aspects and brings together such 
a different class of people as that of malting conjur- 
ing apparatus, hence it is not to be wondered at 
that such a person is in a position to meet with many 
peculiar experiences. For the benefit of those who 
may adopt the profession of a conjurer, and also 
for the amusement of our readers, we will chronicle 
, a few of the peculiar happenings that have come 
under the observation of a certain manufacturer in 
the past few years. 

It is astonishing, the amount of ignorance to be 
found among a certain class of superstitious people. 
The following is the verbatim copy of letter received 
by the gentleman, from St. Louis : 

" St. Louis, Feb. 12, 1887. 

' 'Dir Sir: 

"Please fint entclosed 2 cent stamp for one of jour Conjuring 
Apparatus Catalogue. Please let me no ef jou have some Boocks 
on Handt wehre jou kan it macked so jou kan win in Lotterie 

177 



178 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

every Time. Answer sun & let me no the Prize of them. Let 
me havest in Germania if possible. 

' ' Yours very respf ully, 



It is more than Jikelj that if the manufacturer 
could always tell the winning number in a lottery, 
he would keep it to himself, and not sell it. 

The carelessness in correspondence of the ordinary 
side-showman is something extraordinary. A very 
usual occurrence for them is to forget to sign their 
names. The most common mistake is that of forget- 
ting to give their address, and the receiver has to 
puzzle his brain over an illegible postmark. These, 
however, are surpassed by the man in the mining 
regions of Pennsylvania, who cut the advertisement 
inserted by our friend out of a paper, enclosed it in 
an envelope with a ten-cent silver piece, both the 
advertisement and the coin being wrapped in a piece 
of letter paper, with nothing else whatever in the 
envelope, not even the scratch of a pen or pencil. 
No doubt that man to this day imagines that all 
parties advertising catalogues are frauds. 

A man in Albany, N. Y., once ordered a small 
pocket trick costing seventy-five cents, that being 
the amount he remitted. It was a mechanical piece 
of apparatus that only an amateur with no particu- 
lar skill would make use of. The person addressed, 
having none on hand, and being occupied with more 
important orders, wrote that in a few days some of 
them would be made up and one sent on. A few 
days thereafter the manufacturer received a dis- 
patch reading as follows : " When do you intend to 



PICCliLlAR HAPPE^^lNGS. 



179 



ship goods?" This was signed by the Albany man 
and was followed a couple of days later by a letter 
from him in these words : " If you are doing a skin 
business let me know so I won't be wasting my 
time." This had no preliminary address nor end- 
ing, but was properly signed. He was immediately 
advised to look elsewhere for such great quantities 
of "goods" as he desired, and his money returned 
to him with the advice that he had better try and 
learn something befitting a man and not act like a 
fourteen-year-old school-boy. 

This reminds us of a man in the country, who saw 
a toy steam-engine advertised for sale in the col- 
umns of one of the " patent inside weekly " new^s- 
papers, for $1.50, and wrote to the advertiser, asking 
if the machine was strong enough to run a buzz 
saw ! He was, however, not quite equal to the 
countryman who ordered of a novelty house a three 
dollar steam-boiler, and, not receiving it at once, 
wrote back asking when his machine and boiler 
would be shipped, as he had been three times to the 
train with two men and a team to haul it away, and 
he had got tired of waiting for it. 

Another most interesting correspondent of our 
manufacturer was a resident of Avon, New York, 
who, like many other mistaken mortals, imagined he 
could be a professor of magic. His manner of ask- 
ing prices was very interesting; for instance, if any- 
thing was offered for sale at from five to ten dollars, 
he would write and say, " If you will take fifty cents 
for that trick, I will send you the money ; please 
answer quick." If anything struck his fancy that 



180 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

was worth twenty-five dollars or more, he would 
write and say : ^' That is a good trick, but it is 
too dear; if you will take $2.50, please let me 
know quick, or I will have to order it of N^ew 
York parties." When he first received a letter that 
had been written on a typewriter, he wrote back : 
" You need not wait to have your letters printed, I 
can rede ritein." It is suggested that it would have 
been a great advantage to him if he could have 
remembered how "ritein" looked when he read it. 

One of the most peculiar and interesting letters 
our manufacturer ever received was from a con- 
jurer who is quite well known throughout the small 
towns of the East. Ab a good example of what a 
man can do, and what work he can get out while 
running single-handed on the road, we give the let- 
ter in full: 

" Clarence Centre, Y., November 5th, 1887, 
"Bear Sir: Your advertisement is before me. I am very 
anxious to know what Buatier's Cocoon and the * Original 
Egyptioin Black Art' mean, as they are both something that I 
have never either seen or heard of until reading your *ad.' I 
am giving little shows in little towns, and am making a Utile, 
very little money. But am not having to walk, or leave any bag- 
gage for debts. I even can spare a little money, a mry little 
money, to pay for anything that would have a tendency to induce 
more people to patronize me. I mix magic tricks, spiritualistic 
tricks and idiotic expressions all together, and deal the mixture 
out to the eager, grasping few who pay me ten cents for the privi- 
lege of being humbugged. So, if you can add anything to this 
mixture to make it more palatable to my patrons, just sit down 
and tell me about what you have, how much it will cost me to 
get it, when I can get it, etc. 

' * For a few years back, many professionals, and several amateurs 
I have met in the rural districts that have been blessed with my 



PECULIAR HAPPENINGS. 



181 



'90 laughs in 90 minutes,' have all and each added their mites 
to my conglomeration ; that is to say, I have bought and paid the 
cash for several of their cheapest tricks, and I have been enabled 
to make a little, a very Utile, interest on the amount invested wiih 
each of them, ana am ready and willing to patronize you a little, 
a Dery little, if you have anything I want, and will name a price 
that will not bankrupt me. 

" I am not a rival of Heller, nor Keller, nor no other feller of 
any magnitude. I am a poor little country showman, that has 
neither the big head nor big pocket-book ; but I know I am a 
small fish and I stay in the small streams and bask in the sunshine 
with the other little minnies, and am enjoying life. I don't owe 
anybody and nobody owes me. I do not want to be tedious but I 
make these explanations, so that if you make apparatus only for 
such men as Herrmann, Kellar and the great magicians, you will not 
waste any time on me at present. I hope to be great some day, 
but that day with me has not arrived. The most I ever paid for a 
trick in my life was ten dollars, but I would like to buy five more 
at the same price to-day, if I could get as good ones as the one I 
mention. It is an apparatus for lifting tables, chairs, stools, and 
other articles of furniture, a la spiritualism. 

" I want your unrivaled catalogue, and, rather than have you 
make fun of my little descriptive bill, I will enclose you ten cents 
for the catalogue and request you to send it by return mail, as I 
am en route, and only stay in a village long enough to work up 
my own advertising, give my show, and pull out for another 
town. I am my own advance agent, programmer, business mana- 
ger, treasurer, property man, door-keeper, usher, stage hand, car- 
penter, scene shifter, scenic artist, actor, lecturer, humbugger, 
and sheriff dodger. I am all combined in one. 

If you think it worth while to send me one of your catalogues 
for my ten cents, I would be glad to get it; if not, keep the ten 
cents anyway to pay for reading this long letter, 
"Very respectfully yours, 

"C. W. Starr." 

It is almost needless to remark that a catalogue 
was sent by first mail. 

Another letter to the same manufacturer, from 
way down East," we also give in full : 



182 



MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORXS. 



"Hampden, Mass., December 16, 1888. 
" Dea r Sir: All my cuts and electro-plates were burned last 
week. What have you? Send sample and oblige. 
" Yours, &c., 

"F. L. ' HiGGINS.' 

"Care of ' Durand,' 150 Orange St., New Haven, Ct. 
"P. S. — This is my 13th year about these parts. 'I'm a 
Rhuben but no Jay.' Slicker than a polecat. lama Magician, 
Ventriloquist, Punch and Judy, Marionettes, Negro (Specialities), 
29 Farces, 2 and 3 people in them, Good Singer, Dress Well, 
Look Well, and I feel well. This cuss that *s acting out around 
with me is Howard W. Durand, the New Haven, Ct., Costumer, 
and where six people would all starve to death, we go and stay 3 
to 6 days, change of show every night, 2 hour show. 
" Yours, &c,, 

"HiGGINS." 

The ending of this letter reminds us of the old 
saying, that " the pith of a lady's letter is always in 
the postscript."" 

One person who saw the trade mark of the word 
" Kesurgam " used in our friend's advertisements, 
wrote for the price of his new illusion " Resurgam," 
and a description of it, because if it was good he 
wanted it " right away ; " and this from a man who 
did not have a dollar to spend, either. Another 
interesting letter was one received a few years ago 
from a o-entleman writing from the Astor House at 
Shanghai, China, w^ho wrote thus : 

Dear Sir: I have inclosed ten cents. Please forward cata- 
logue and sample. I am just the man you want, traveling all 
over the East with my show. Anything and everything takes 
well out here with the natives of the East. Want your lowest net 
price; and hoping they are low, I remain, 
"Dear Sir, 

' ' Yours truly, 

" L. T. Watson. 
" U. S. P. O., Shanghai, China." 



PECULIAR HAPPENINGS. 



183 



Evidently the Chinamen had not seen a very high 
cJass of conjurers. 

This reminds us that more nonsense has been 
written about the skill of the East Indian fakirs and 
jugglers than any other class of conjurers. We 
have seen and read elaborate articles on the wonders 
of their performances that were written by men 
who had never witnessed a conjurer perform, to say 
nothing of a skillful one. Of w^hat value is such 
testimony as to how a thing was done? Their feats 
have been exaggerated to an enormous degree, 
principally from the fact that they are being w^ritten 
about by persons who have no conception of modern 
conjuring or sleight-of-hand. It seems almost time 
that some lucid explanation should be given of 
these numerous feats that we hear and read so much 
about and which we never see. As showing how 
people who have no knowledge of the art of conjur- 
ing can be deceived, and at the same time be made 
to believe they have seen something they really did 
not see, we will state that a resident of Chicago 
recently spent his vacation at a resort not far from 
that city, and was prevailed upon by some of the 
old residents, who had known him "in the days of 
his youth," to give a little entertainment. Our 
amateur not being prepared for any performances, 
simply showed the company a few sleight-of-hand 
tricks with common objects that he found in the 
house. One of the gentlemen present, now past 
his three score years and ten, but still apparently in 
his prime, and noted throughout the States as a 
prominent teacher in the educational walks of life, 



184 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIK AVORKS. 

and whom the amateur remembered as having taken 
much pains with him when under his watchful and 
fatherly care a good many years ago, remarked how 
much he had read of the wonderful doings of the East 
Indian fakirs. He called special attention to a trick 
he had often read about, and which was beyond his 
comprehension. It was to the effect that a fakir 
produced a large number of balls, and then stated 
that he would throw them in the air one at a time 
Avhen the audience would see them disappear one by 
one, till all had gone. After waiting a few moments 
the fakir would commence calling them down, and 
they would come one at a time, and the ground 
would again be covered with balls. Being asked to 
explain it or duplicate it to their satisfaction, the 
Chicago amateur agreed to do so. Assisted by a 
young lady, he made a tour of the well-filled cellar 
and store rooms and found a large quantity of fine 
apples, selecting only half a dozen, all about the 
same size, say two inches in diameter, he returned to 
the parlor with them, and placed them on the piano. 
He then requested the audience to note that one 
apple would be taken at a time and thrown in the 
air three times, disappearing at the word three. 
The conjurer rolled up his sleeves and commenced. 
In a moment the apples had all disappeared in regu- 
lar order, one by one. Then stepping out into the 
middle of the room, his hands were shown empty 
and all present w^ere requested to look up in the air 
and they would see the apples coming down at the 
word three, one at a time, while the performer 
counted as before. This occurred to their fullest 
satisfaction. 



TECULIAR HAPPENIl^rGS. 



185 



This little trick, which is common to all skillful 
conjurers, puzzled the good people of Geneva exactly 
in the same manner that the East Indian fakir did 
the gentleman who wrote the wonderful account of 
what he saw. Now for the best part of the story. 
While our amateur was taking his daily " constitu- 
tional'' the next day, he met one of the gentlemen 
who had been present the evening before at the little 
entertainment. He is a very shrewd person, and 
was in company of another old resident, to whom 
the Chicago man was introduced, when he remarked 
to his friend and some other gentlemen present : 
"You ought to have been at the party last evening 
to have seen the wonderful thing we saw. This old 
school-boy of ours took half a dozen apples and 
threw them up into the air, one b}^ one, and they all 
disappeared, and then in a minute he commenced 
calling them down, and they commenced coming 
down out of the air again, falling on the floor till he, 
had over two hushels of apples thereP 

Here is t he secret of all the extraordinary work 
of the East Indian fakirs. This gentleman described 
the trick just as it appeared to him, which was not 
by any means the way it was performed. 

Barnello, the celebrated fire-eater, who does proba- 
bly one of the neatest and most original fire-eating 
acts of tlie present time, tells of the following pecu- 
liar occurrence which he witnessed in Memphis, 
Tenn. While he was standing outside of the theatre 
in which he had beenperforming,he was approached 
by a negro, who said, ^' Hullo man, you's a queer 
man to eat fire. Fse kindah o' article myself, too. I 



186 MODERN MAGICIA.NS AND THEIR WORKS. 

ken drink a 'hull pail o' water." Barnello states 
that he took it all in, as you might say, and, having 
a few moments to spare, made the man believe he 
would hire him, but first wanted to see him drink 
the water. The gentleman of color" agreed, and 
they stepped inside the theatre; Barnello, mean- 
time, posting the proprietor. A pail of water was 
procured, also a tin cup to drink out of. Without 
any preparation whatever, the negro commenced to 
drink the water, and inside of fifteen minutes he 
drank the entire pail empty. Although the colored 
man was lean, Barnello says that his paunch pro- 
truded like that of an Alderman." He had not had 
the water down long before he said that he could 
not stand it for any length of time, and that it must 
come up again. Stepping out on the sidewalk and 
standing close to the curbstone, he worked his left 
arm out and back from his left shoulder as in the act 
of pumping, and the water spurted out of his mouth 
like a stream of water from a small hose. This is 
surely one of the most peculiar freaks we ever 
heard of. 

The following story has been described in a num- 
ber of ways; but clothed in this garb by a friend of 
ours in Boston, it looks pleasing and is like an old 
friend in a new dress : It was in a town on the coast 
of England where a magician was advertised to give 
a performance. It was a sea-faring towm, and being 
so much out of the way, it was not often that any 
performances were given there. The town did not 
even boast of a hall, let alone a theatre. The only 
room to secure was a large storehouse. At the time 



PECULIAR HAPPENINGS. 



of the advent of the magician a quantity of powder 
was stored in kegs in the large room of this ware- 
house. The proprietor had fixed up this room the 
best he could, and had placed boards across and on 
the kegs for seats. lie exacted a promise from the 
magician to keep his eyes on the men present and 
not allow them to light their pipes in the place. 
When the magician made his appearance, he found 
the room well filled with sailors, to whom he ex- 
plained the matter and requested them not to light 
their pipes in the place, as he had promised the 
proprietor of the room that it would not be done. 
Of course the Jack Tars agreed and promised 
not to light their pipes. The conjurer then went on 
with his performance, which proved of great interest 
to his spectators. One of them perhaps felt more 
interested than the others and was very much 
pleased with every trick the magician did. This 
particular sailor had with him his pet, a very tame 
parrot, which was quite a good talker and seemed to 
learn very easily. After every good trick the sailor 
would say, ''That's pretty good, I wonder what he 
will do next." This he repeated several times and 
the parrot came very near repeating it over after 
him. The sailor was thoroughly wrapped up in the 
tricks he saw, and after a little while became so 
much excited that he quite forgot himself, and, tak- 
ing out his pipe, filled it with tobacco. Taking a 
match from his pocket, he scratched it on one of the 
kegs when v^hiz, bang, went the powder and the 
whole place was blown to pieces by the terrific explo- 
sion which followed. Our sailor finally came to his 



188 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



senses and found himself out in a field. Looking up 
he saw his parrot sitting on a fence with his large 
feathers missing, one eye out and his whiskers gone. 
Turning his one eye on Jack, he looked down on him 
and said, "That's pretty good, I wonder what he 
will do next." 



CHAPTER XII. 



MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 

Dr. Holden's Adventures ia Egypt, Algeria, and India — Deaf 
men at a show — Frazer Coulter's Failure as an Assistant — 
The old trick of "Prof. Hume" — Baron Seeman's wit and 
ingenuity, His Jlussian Experience — Old Bamberg's arrest, 
his skill— How D'Alvini broke up the sharpers — Foreign and 
home audiences— Lady Professionals— The Future of the 
Art. 

In a previous chapter we have spoken of the pop- 
ular and well-known Dr. Holden, of London, who is 
also known as the " Bohemian Magician.'' Not only 
is he a clever conjurer, but quite a talented writer, 
and from his ^' Wizard's Wanderings*' we take the 
following interesting descriptions of remarkable 
occurrences, in each of which he was the leading 
actor : 

^'On arriving at Cairo, a rather amusing incident 
occurred, which may not be out of place here. In 
the delightfully cool room of the Koyal Hotel, 
which is situated on the Boulevard Esbekich, Cairo, 
and is about as comfortable a hotel as you can well find 
out there, we were chatting together, enjoying the 
fragrant weed, when I thought I would play a joke 

during the evening on W , and mentioned to 

one or two present that I would do a trick with his 



1^0 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



scarf-pin. An hour or so later the chance presented 
itself. ' You might show us a trick before you go 
to perform at the theatre, Dr. Ilolden,' said one. 
' Do, mon ami^- said another. 'Gentlemen,'! said, 
' I never perform a magical experiment except on 
the stage, but as you are so very pressing, and if 
it will relieve un mauvais quart d'heure, as I see the 
ladies have all left, I will just show you a feat I saw 
performed out here. "Will any one kindly lend me 

a scarf-pin ? ' I asked. W , after a little hesitation, 

said he would. ' Do not let me touch it, nor even see 
it,' I replied, ' but take this envelope, place this scarf- 
pin inside, and seal it up with wax, a stick of which 
I beg to hand you.' By this time all eyes were on 
me, but by a dexterous move I managed to get hold 
af the envelope, and instantly changed it for another 
one, sealed up like the other, and containing a 
dummy scarf-pin. Having 'rung the changes,' as 
it were, I now felt secure, and prepared to sit upon 

poor W . The airs I gave myself (Englishlike) 

none can tell. Before now, gentle reader, have you 
not often felt inclined to hurl the soup-tureen or the 
spittoon at the head of some egotistical, self-con- 
ceited fellow-countryman abroad, as he makes him- 
self a lineal descendant of Balaam's Ass before a com- 
pany of sensible foreigners? Well, had you been 
present that evening at Cairo, you would not have 
even drawn the line at the sofa itself, I fear, as far as 
it concerns me. I gave myself more airs than all of 
Gatti's waiters put together. I not only sat on poor 

W , but pulverized the fellow. He bore it, I 

must confess, like a lamb. ' Observe, gentlemen, 



MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 



191 



what a marvelous feat I am about to demonstrate. 
Waiter, bring me in three lemons, please.' He did 

so, and I managed to get W 's pin out of the 

envelope in my back pocket, palm it, and insert it in 
one of the lemons I had carelessly taken up. ' I 
shall now command the scarf-pin to leave my hand,' 
I said, as I took up the sealed envelope by the tips of 
my fingers; ^and pass into either of those lemons.' 
One was selected — of course the one with the pin 
in it. That I placed in the center of the table, in a 
borrowed hat, and vanished by a sleight-of-hand the 
dummy pin and sealed envelope. *I'll bet you a 
level " pony" my pin is not inside that lemon in the 

hat,' said W . 'And champagne round as well 

for the good of the house?' I added. 'Done,' 
said W ; and done I was. I cut open, bombast- 
ically, the lemon, and there was a pm in it, right 

enough, but it was my pin, not W 's. Some 

kind friend, it seems, had told W of the 'sell ' I 

had prepared for him, and he had gone to my room 
and exchanged pins, they being very much alike, 
but inside his was his name and where it was pre- 
sented to him. So I had to pay up. I think prac- 
tical jokes are silly thmgs. 

" One morning, sauntering into the open space used 
as a market place at Fez, with fancy bernouse thrown 
carelessly over me, I had a look around on the qui 
Vive for ' something to turn up,' as poor Micawber 
used to say. In traveling through Morocco, I always 
dressed in the Oriental style, and, when necessar3% 
passed myself off as a native. My readers may easily 
imagine, without too great a stretch of the iraagina- 



192 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

tion, the bright, picturesque scene presented. Wild, 
swarthy men from the Atlas slopes bargaining for 
one thing or another, yelling and shouting and 
cheapening what they wanted — no such thing as 
* prix fixe ' seeming to be in vogue at Fez. I used to 
think Naples the queerest spot under the sun to 
strike a bargain in, but it is ' nowhere' compared to 
Fez. Slaves were led through the crowd, in batches 
of three, or four together, and contented enough 
they looked, poor souls. You see, the unfortunate 
wretches had had no school-board education crammed 
into them, neither had they— poor benighted ones — 
ever had the advantage of attending Exeter Hall ; 
the consequences were that they, knowing no better, 
were quite satisfied with their lot, and seemed to 
take things as they came. Piles of juicy fruit, 
many of them unknown to dear old Covent Garden, 
lay about, watched over by bright-eyed Moorish 
women, who seemed to work like beasts of burden. 
There is very little poetry about them, and they are 
all as ignorant as well can be. The bazaars around 
were full of people chatting and yelling, who were 
pushed aside as the Sultan's body-guard strode along 
in all their glory. And what magnificent looking 
men they are. They walk along, glancing first on 
this side, and then on the other, nodding to their 
friends, with all the grace of Salvini himself. These 
Moors bronzed, it is true, but it is not the sooty hue 
with which our tragedians depict the 'Swan of 
Avon's' Othello. At one stall were hanging a 
number of partridges, quails, some queer-looking 
unknown birds, and hares, presided over by a 



MiSCELLANP:OUS SKETCHES. 



193 



brigandish - looking - penny-plain - two-pence-colored- 
looking mountaineer, with a fierce moustache and 
armed cap-a-pie. ' What will you take, not what 
you are asking, Ali, for this wretched, half-starved, 
heaven-forsaken hare?' I asked him, in Arabic. 
' Salaam, aleikoom ' (so and so),' was the reply, ' and 
it's worth double. I shot it myself,' he added, with 
a proud chuckle, ' the day before yesterday ; miles 
from here.' ^Eeach it down,' I said, *and tell me 
no more of your lies, Ali. Shot it the day before 
yesterday. It's pretty high, then ? ' Yes,' he 
answered, 'I shot it up a tree.' ' Why, it is alive, 
you dog,' I said. Taking it up by the ears, I showed 
it to the crowd around me, and sure enough, alive 
and kicking it was. I then let it jump off the board, 
and off it bolted down the street, pursued by a 
number of on -lookers and all the mongrel dogs in 
the city. All's face was a study. Shall I ever 
forget his look? — I think not. He thought I was 
Yama himself. Like wild-fire the tale spread, how 
the magician had put life into a dead hare — which 
in due time was run to earth just inside the garden 
of the palace, and the tale was told to the Sultan 
himself, who was passing out at the time on his way 
to the Mosque. 

"That afternoon, I remember, I was sent for to 
cometothePalace, and it was arranged I should give 
a display of my powers the following day before the 
court. For the evening, I had already announced my 
intention of giving a public performance in the then 
empty bazaar of Aboultiassen Ebn Becar, which my 
readers may remember if they have ever visited Fez, 



194 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



is, or was, situated close to the Mosque. I need 
hardly remark that, before publicly anointing 
myself that night with what the audience took to be 
Meemi-ke-tale, I had the satisfaction of seeing the 
place crowded to almost suffocation, scarcely allow- 
ing me room to grow the mangosteen in. So full, 
indeed, was the place, that numbers failed to obtain 
admission. Over twenty performances did I give 
there, and all through the simple device I practiced. 

On my way to Fez from Fighig, after crossing the 
Atlas range of mountains, my dog caught a hare, 
which I carefully attended to, and on the morning 
I have just mentioned this hare was carefully con- 
cealed in a pocket, very -get-at-able, just underneath 
my bernouse. As I took the dead hare from All's 
hands, I substituted the living one and pocketed the 
dead hare in a far shorter space of time than it takes 
to tell. The fanatical, ignorant people about thought 
I was possessed of supernatural power. 

^' During my last professional tour from China to 
Peru, I happened to find myself, one fine day, at 
Hyderabad. I had given my magical performance 
at the Nizam's City Palace before a large company 
of Muslim court officials, dignitaries and ladies from 
the garrison at Secunderabad, when, a day or two 
afterwards, I was sent for, with a request that His 
Highness wished to confer with me. I was ushered 
into his presence, wondering what was on the tapis. 
He is of less than middle stature, with dark, 
expressive eyes, and a mild countenance, and was 
attired in a black coat crossed by the azure riband 
of the Star of India, a diamond-studded sabre 



MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 



195 



swinging at his waist. His get-up, in the words of 
TalleyYUiidy ^ Je le trouve Men distingue,'^ Abrilhant 
staff of officials stood around, each of whom, in 
approaching the greatest Prince of India, made six 
several and profoundly low salaams, acknowledged 
from the throne by a slight wave of the hand. 

" Turning affably to me, he remarked, ' I was very 
impressed with your " Mind-revealing," I think you 
called it,' — I bowed low to indicate he was right — 
' when you appeared here yesterday, and I want to 
see you if you can — but our Minister, Salar Jung, 
will explain matters more fully to you. Doctor 
Holden,' said His Highness, with a pleasant and 
gracious smile, as he took his departure. Here is 
an adventure, I thought, and tried to look grave, to 
be in harmony with my character. What is it ? I 
wondered, as I inwardly took in the magnificent 
surroundings, as I hoped, presently, to take 
them in! Only a short distance from where 
I was, stands Golconda, noted for its diamonds 
and Sinbad's story of the eagles and the joints of 
mutton in the ' Valley of Jewels.' Here the cele- 
brated Koh-i-noor was found. The last famous dia- 
mond found here was the 'Kizam,' I believe, which, 
after a peasant had rashly splintered it by a blow 
on the apex, still furnished a fragment valued at 
seven hundred and twent}^ thousand pounds. I 
could not help thinking of thiS as I stood on the 
platform of marble, under that exquisite pillared 
portico looking over the vast, well-lighted quad- 
rangle, surrounded by the white palace buildings. 

" How little we ' who live at home at ease' know 



196 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

of the glories, in the way of palaces and temples, of 
India. How different from all our preconceived 
ideas do we find the reality. Thus I mused as the 
i^izam slowly walked away, leaving me a most pecu- 
liar and unprofessional duty to undertake, as I shall 
now try and explain. I was surrounded by all the 
notabilities of the Court, all quizzing me, I fully 
believed, but all as courteous and gracious as only 
Moslem gentlemen can be. Salar Jung, a very tall 
young man, of thoughtful and intellectual counte- 
nance and graceful manners, and Syed Ali, Director 
of Public Instruction to the State, who, besides talk- 
ing English with fluent accuracy, and the Hindu- 
stani of the Deccan, is a proficient in Persian, Ara- 
bic, and Murathi, as well as Sanscrit, between them, 
explained that His Highness had lost a rare and 
magnificent diamond from the hilt of his scimitar, 
some famous stone handed dow^n from — well,whether 
he said Vehchaisravai, the Divine Stallion, or some- 
thing or somebody else, I could not catch; at all 
events it was evidently highly prized. 

" 'Could I by any means find the thief; or, if not 
stolen, could I find where it lay perdu? 

"Well, this was a poser for me. ' Give me twelve 
hours in this palace,' said I, 'and I will see what 
can be done.' I was made right royally welcome, 
enjoyed a banquet in a private room served upon 
gold, I remember, the cooking being quite European, 
except for the profusion of the pillaus and curries, 
in which the Mogul chef of the palace excels any 
rival. I doubt muchly if the genius of Soyer, of 
Franca telli, and of Baron Brisse, all combined, could 



MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 19 T 

t. 

have concocted such an appetizing, highl3^-flavored 
repast. I had carte Uanche to do things, I suppose, 
no other European ever did there. I set ray wits 
to work and inquired here, inquired there, and 
still could see no wa}^ of solving the problem. Poor 
old Thucydides would have been shocked had he 
lived in Hyderabad to-day, as everyone seems armed 
to the teeth ; even in the palace it was the same. 
Does he not say, in his First Book, that no civilized 
citizens should carry iron ? If the JSTizam had taken 
the sage's advice, this would not have occurred. 
' Well, I won't carry iron, but brass," instead,' I said 
to myself. An idea had struck me ; arms are never 
carried into the presence of ladies of the court here, 
so it must have been when outside those sacred pre- 
cincts the stone was lost. 

''I sauntered to that entrance and found it 
guarded by a black-faced Sidi, whilst a Kohilla, 
with blue caftan and blunderbuss, lounged close 
by. Eight men formed the guard of that par- 
ticular part of the palace, and they had not been 
changed since the stone had been lost, but had all 
been searched and thoroughly examined when the 
loss was discovered, as here the l^izam was in the 
habit of throwing off any superfluous article he 
might have on his person, depositing the same in an 
alcove near by. I minutely examined the pesh-Mats^ 
and those little villainous knives named hickwas or 
' scorpions ' to see if their points had been broken by 
unsetting the missing diamond, also each sher hucha, 
* tiger's child,' a>nd saf sMJcan^ ' line sweeper,' as they 
call their wretched blunderbuss, to see if it might 



198 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



not be concealed therein. All to no purpose. At 
last a happy thought inspired me. I got the minis- 
ters and other officials to witness this, my last test, 
trusting to the chapter of accidents to pull me 
through. 

" At the bottom of the staircase were drawn up a 
body of well-mounted short and square Arab troop- 
ers, with drawn sabres and silver-bound match-locks, 
which they advanced as His Highness and his court- 
iers came toward where I was standing, shaded by 
the royal color, or flag of Hyderabad, which is yel- 
low with a circular disc in its middle (if I remember 
rightly), a sort of KuUcha. ' And now. Dr. Holden, 
let us see what we shall see,' graciously remarked 
the Nizam. I bowed, and they sat about on cushions 
of silk and gold, or carved alabaster benches, on the 
very spot I had a day or so previously 'fooled them 
to the top of their bent.' It is a scientific fact, of 
which you may not possibly be aware, that fear and 
anxiety diminish the digestion of any one, and stop 
the secretion of the gastric juice ; this fact I had 
often heard of before, and now determined to put it 
to the test. 

"And what a scene presented itself ! What color, 
what effect ! How well it would look, I thought, on 
one of our best metropolitan theatres. In the dis- 
tance, peering through the gates, was the black-faced 
Sidi, the Rohilla, with blue caftan and blunderbuss; 
the Pathan, the Afghan, dirty and long-haired; the 
Eajpoot, with his shield of oiled and polished hide ; 
Persians, Bokhara men, Turks, Mahrattas, Madras- 
ees, Parsees, and others. The suspected ones were 



MISCELLA.NEOUS SKETCHES. 



199 



marched up, and appeared to me to show more ser- 
vility than one notices even in the effete courts of 
Europe. They seemed to have a weakness ' to crook 
the pregnant hinges of the knee ' with a vengeance ! 

"I procured eight brass dishes, each containing a 
few handfuls of dry rice, and had the eight guards 
pkced in front of me. Being a mesmerist, I saw, at 
once, I had them under my control entirely. But 
that would have been no use in detecting crime, you 
say. True, it would not, but I was going to apply 
the simpler test, but combined with the magnetic 
force or will-power. Putting on Cato-like sternness I 
looked into each man's eyes, and never saw such 
unflinching, dare-devil subjects. The interpreter 
was then called for, and Avas told to explain to these 
eight men that I, 'Dr. Holden, Magician to the 
Queen-Empress,' was possessed of supernatural 
power, and could read men's thoughts. Let each 
man take a handful of rice and chew it, spitting it 
on to the plate he held in his hand, when told to do 
so. They did as requested, without a muscle mov- 
ing. Now, somehow or another, I felt tlie guilty 
man was amongst these eight, and possibly I put 
forth will-power to a greater extent than I should 
have done, had I not suspected one of them. 

'"If the guilty man is amongst you, he can not 
chew his rice,' I said, looking them well into the face. 
' Spit out on your plate what 3^ou have in your 
mouths,' I said. They did so, and there, sure enough, 
amongst those eight plates of chewed rice, was one 
dry moiUhfttl. Placing mv face against that man's, 
I glared at him and accused iiim of the theft. I 



200 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIJR WORKS. 

was right. He confessed his crime, and showed us 
where the concealed stone was. As a lady was 
mixed up in this affair, and as these lines may very 
possibly reach Hyderabad, it might be considered, 
possibly, a breach of confidence if I said any more 
on this strange subject. The President, Mr. Cordery, 
will understand my motives for so doing, I have no 
doubt. Amongst the presents made me is one I shall 
ever revere. It was a magnificent abbassis, a sort of 
Persian rapier, on which was engraved the Gayatri, 
or ' Sacred Yerse ' of the Brahmins. 

" Of course, my success got bruited about, and made 
my sojourn in that hospitable country most enjoya- 
ble ; so much so, that it was with considerable reluc- 
tance I tore myself away from Hyderabad — the 
Mohammedan Capua. Some believe it was here 
Cupid played 'Campaspe,' a game of cards for 
kisses. However that may be, I shall always con- 
sole myself with the thought that I played my cards 
pretty well here." 

Many conjurers, especially those performing in our 
large cities, know how difficult it is to get a person 
in the audience to assist them. Those who have 
experienced this will appreciate the following, clipped 
from an Eastern paper : 

''Jones and Gibbs," says the Washington Sta7\ 
" went together, the other night, to see a celebrated 
conjurer prestidigitate at a "Washington theatre. 
You know how deaf Gibbs is ; he can't hear a word 
you say, unless you shout into his ear ; and Jones is 
nearly as bad. To hear them try to talk to one 
another you would suppose they were engaged in 



MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 



201 



violent altercation, judging from the elevation of 
their voices and their gesticulations. 

"But, as it was about to be remarked, Jones 
had secured two orchestra chairs, through the 
medium of a bill-board, and he took his friend Gibbs 
along with him. Gibbs paying Jones only one-half 
the box-office price for his seat — a bargain exhibiting 
Jones' characteristic generosity in business matters. 
Jones had managed to get the places in the front 
row, so as to secure as much for the money as possi- 
ble. They sat next the aisle, and it was not sur- 
prising that the magician should have applied to 
Jones on the first occasion when he desired to per- 
form a trick through the medium of some one in the 
audience. He walked down from the stage into the 
orchestra by an inclined plane arranged for that pur- 
pose, and when he came to Jones said : 

May I ask you, sir, to give me your aid in this 
little matter?' 

''Now, it happens that the conjurer does not speak 
English very perfectly, and it thus befell that Jones, 
without having in any manner caught the purport of 
the question addressed to him, grinned amicably and 
nodded an assent. Whereupon the magician pro- 
ceeded to rapidly explain what was required, not dis- 
coverins: that he was not understood at all until 
Gibbs leaned over and said : 

"'My friend is deaf : I don't believe he hears you.' 

"'Oh!' replied the prestidigitateur, the situation 
dawning upon him, and immediately he placed the 
pack of cards he held in Gibbs' hand and bade him 
do thus and so. But Jones, who had himself waked 



202 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS, 

up by this time to the state of affairs, plucked at the 
magician's sleeve and said : 

^' ' It's no use talking to him ; he's as deaf as a 
post.' 

" The conjurer looked astonished for a moment, and 
then, addressing the audience, most of whom had 
already perceived the difKculty that was making a 
pause in the programme, he asked : 

' Ladies and gentlemen, is there any one here to- 
night who has ears to hear with^ 

"There were at once a number of responses to this 
appeal and the performance was continued. Gibbs 
and Jones say that it wasn't their fault; they went 
to see and not hear — that being the great advantage 
of a magician's show from their point of view." 

The following story is told by the manager of the 
Turn-Over Club, of. Chicago: 

" I fell in the other day with Frazer Coulter, who 
has been over at the Haymarket with .Duncan Har- 
rison's 'Paymaster,'" said the actor, "and he had 
along with him his old friend, William Luske, who 
forsook the profession to settle down here in Chicago 
as a broker, and who occasionally dabbles in the 
drama to the extent of private theatricals. The two 
were talking of past days, and Coulter told of the 
time he w^as a confederate — not in war, but the con- 
federate of an amateur magician who participated in 
a charitable entertainment at a fashionable Eastern 
watering place some seasons ago. This entertain- 
ment was to open with a little comedy, and then the 
audience \vas to be astounded by the young prestidig- 
itateur. The latter was a wealthy young fellow 



MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 



203 



who bad purchased all of the magical apparatus he 
could lind, and he had spent a great deal of time in 
training his brother to act as his assistant. The 
brother was expected down on the afternoon train, 
but he failed to show up. The magician was wild. He 
told Coulter that he would have to assist him. Coul- 
ter kicked and said he knew nothing about magic, 
but he finally agreed to do the best he could. In 
ten minutes he tried hard to absorb the teaching of 
months, but he was a little uncertain when he went 
into the audience as a confederate. 

" The first trick he essayed was that of burning up 
a borrowed handkerchief and then finding it in good 
shape wherever the audience wanted it found. The 
handkerchief was borrowed and the 'dummy' was 
burned all right. Then blank cards were passed 
about in the audience and people were asked to write 
where the handkerchief should be found. These 
cards were returned to Coulter and placed in a box 
on the end of a long stick. As confederate he 
should have pressed a button on the end of the stick 
and turned the cards so that a prepared one, on 
which ' A loaf of bread ' was written, should be pulled 
out by the disinterested person asked to make the 
draw. Coulter remembered from his hurried instruc- 
tions that he must do something, but what it was he 
could not recall. Well, he did not press the button, 
and the man who drew the card read in a clear, loud 
tone : ' In a lemon.' The amateur magician nearly 
had a fit, and he glared at Coulter like a madman. 
He had to give np, however, and the trick was tried 
over again. Coulter pressed the button this time 



204 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

and the ' loaf of bread ' card came out all right. The 
prepared loaf had been left at the hotel and the 
waiter was sent for. He mixed his dates and brought 
the wrong loaf. The magician tore it open with a 
triumphant air, found no handkerchief inside, and 
wilted. Then the right loaf was sent for, and the 
waiter who brought it carried it down the aisle so 
that every one saw the square plug which had been 
cutout for the insertion of the cambric. The magi- 
cian was wild. Everything went wrong with him. 
Flowers absolutely refused to grow in a plug hat 
because Coulter forgot to pull the string, and a muss 
was made of every trick until the magician gave up 
in disgust. Since then Mr. Coulter has absolutely 
refused to act as any one's confederate." 

Some years ago an anti-spiritualistic performer, 
generally known to the profession as Eddie Powell, 
gave a large number of exhibitions throughout our 
country. He was noted particularly for the facility 
with which he changed his name to *Hume, Home, 
Slade and other shining lights of the spiritualistic 
fraternit3^ His performances were all alike, al- 
though the tricks he introduced were quite skill- 
fully executed. He has not been heard from for 
some time, but is no doubt carrying on the same 
class of performances which, under such manipula- 
tion, tend so much to confuse many spiritualists and 
persons who call themselves investigators. 

The following account of the doings of a certain 
"Prof. Hume" expresses the estimation in which 
such performances are now held, and which is only 
one of many just such criticisms that have often 
appeared : 



MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 



205 



"Attracted by the announcement that 'Professor' 
Hume, the unrivaled medium, prestidigitateur, necro- 
mancer and general dabbler in the mystic arts, would 
outdo all the tricks of Heller, Kellar and Herrmann 
combined, a large and fashionable audience assem- 
bled in a hall at 814 Geary street, and shivered 
throughout the performance of about as gigantic a 
swindle as ever was perpetrated upon a credulous pub- 
lic. The ' Professor's' many colored handbills stated 
that ' a small admission fee would be charged to defray 
the expenses of the hall.' The 'small admission fee' 
was half a dollar, and the ' performance ' must have 
netted Mr. Hume about $150. 

"Shortly after 8 o'clock the 'Professor,' who is a 
talker of remarkable volubility, appeared upon the 
platform and announced that his pianist (one of the 
finest musicians in the State of California) had failed 
to materialize, and that he would have to supply 
' chin music ' instead. He then selected a committee 
of four gentlemen, who stepped upon the platform 
and looked becomingly wise, serious, pleased or mys- 
tified, as occasion demanded. 

" The ' Professor' then resurrected from the grave 
the time-worn cabinet trick performed by Noah 
before the animals in the ark, and rang bells and 
slung around tambourines, to the great delight of 
the Investigating Committee and to the manifest 
disgust of the really intelligent audience. 

" He then very clumsily attempted the slate- writ- 
ing trick, calling up such back numbers as Ben 
Franklin, Christopher Columbus and other faded- 
out spirits. Finally he succeeded in moving a little 



206 MODEEN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

8x4 table a few inches from the floor, and when the 
hall had been suitably darkened summoned up an 
Indian rubber ghost, which was so poorly con- 
structed that it couldn't be induced to move a step 
from the cabinet. He then announced that his 
entertainment was over, and slid smoothly from the 
stage. 

" The audience sat and looked at each other for a 
few moments, then a buzz of excited and indignant 
conversation arose. There were cries of ' Fraud ! ' 
and 'Give us our money back !' but the humorous 
Hume had performed a little spiritualistic trick on 
his own account and vanished. The whole perform- 
ance did not take over half an hour, and a more 
badly-fooled audience it would have been difficult to 
find anywhere. " 

Quite a remarkable coincidence over the name of 
Taylor appeared one day in a Chicago daily paper. 
On one page in its advertising columns appeared the 
announcement that Prof. C. T. Taylor, the clever 
magician, was appearing at a certain dime museum. 
On another page of the same paper appeared a short 
article, relating how" a certain conjurer called Taylor 
had advertised to perform and then expose the 
wonderful Indian Box trick at a town in Texas. The 
preliminary performance was a very tame affair, 
although he had a well-filled house. At last he pro- 
duced the box trick. Before getting inside the box, 
he requested the audience to keep their seats for five 
minutes after the box was tied up, and he would then 
show them how the trick was done. He got into 
the box, which was then securely tied up. The 



MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 



audience waited the proper time and even longer, 
still no professor put in his appearance from the 
box. It was turned over, and they discovered that 
the conjurer had gone through the bottom of the 
box, through a trap in the stage and was off for 
other fields with the receipts of the theatre. 

Perhaps no magician who has circled the globe 
has had as many interesting things happen to him 
among the highest class of people, as occurred to the 
late renowned Professor Baron Hartwig Seeman, 
during his long and interesting career. The two 
following examples of his wit and ingenuity are from 
his own lips : 

"It was during one of my tours in Sweden that I 
put up at the Gotha Kallare, the best hotel in Goth- 
enburg. In the parlors of this hotel I found a gen- 
tleman waiting for me, who said : ' Now, my dear 
Seeman, this time you must give your best private 
exhibition at my house and not at Liedman's, as I can 
pay as much as he can.' This was the richest whole- 
sale merchant of the Hebrew persuasion. Of course 
I expressed my willingness to do so, and he then 
said : ' You must come right away now and look at 
my house. We can then perfect the arrangements.' 
Taking me in his carriage we drove out to his villa. 
As we alighted we saw an elegantly dressed lady 
enter the house. 'My wife; so much the better,' 
said the gentleman. I Avas introduced and invited 
to join them in a glass of wine and a piece of cake. 
This being the custom, I of course did so, and we 
then made all necessary arrangements concerning 
the private performance I was to give, except- 



208 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

ing the most important point — the price I was 
to receive. I lingered intentionally with them 
some time for this reason. At last the moment 
arrived when I could not with propriety remain 
any longer. Taking leave of my hostess, her 
husband accompanied me to the door, but just 
before we reached it he was called back by his wife, 
who said to him in my presence in English, ' Do 
not speak to him about the salary until after the 
performance. It will be cheaper that way.' Poor 
woman, in her innocence she did not know, — but — 
her husband then accompanied me out into the hall 
where I remarked : ' You know, my dear sir, that 
when you close a bargain with anybody you always 
settle on a price. I am something of a business 
man myself, and will be pleased to have you fix the 
price I am to receive.' He replied: 'Please, Mr. 
Seeman, say how much it shall be.' ' Three hun- 
dred,' I replied. 'Very well,' said the gentleman, 
' good-bye ; ' and with a good-bye from me, I took 
my leave. The performance was given at the time 
appointed. I was afterwards invited to appear, and 
later we had music, after which we talked on all 
possible topics and finally the guests began to leave. 
Then the gentleman said, ' Mr. Seeman, will you not 
look at all of our rooms? There are many of them 
which you have not yet seen. You have amused our 
guests very well, and now you must see our house, 
especially my bed-room, as it is furnished in the 
very latest fashion.' Just at this moment somebody 
in a silk dress passed by us. It was the hostess, 
who joined us in her husband's bed-room, where he 



MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 



209 



said he wished to pay me at once for my performance, 
preferring to do it in his wife's presence. As he 
said this he laid before me on the table three hun- 
dred single Swedish dollars (now crowns). I did 
not touch them, but said to him that this was one 
hundred and fifty dollars less than we had agreed 
upon. He then said : 'But, Mr. Seeman, you said 
three hundred.' ' Quite right,' I replied ; ' but I 
meant three hundred Bauko.' (One Banko is one 
and a half dollars.) They both looked at each 
other, and the lady said she thought it was dear. 
Here was my chance, and I said in English : 
' Madam, if you had first spoken about the pay it 
would perhaps have been three hundred dollars, but 
now after the performance has been given, I need 
three hundred Banko, so I can give a hundred and 
fifty dollars to a poor family of this city in your 
name.' The gentleman paid the amount without a 
murmur, and the next da}^ they read in the papers 
that a poor family had received a present of a hun- 
dred and fifty dollars from a well known lady who 
did not wish her name to be mentioned. I think 
that if her name had appeared, perhaps she would 
not have been quite so angry." 

'' The following episode from my career as an artist 
through Russia, comes to my mind at this time when 
everybody's eyes are attracted toward the political 
horizon in that country. I am fain to say that I tell 
it, as I do all of my little stories, with unvarnished 
truth. It was in November, 1876, that I had 
advertised my ' Grand Soiree mysterieuse,' in the 
hall at Helsingborg. The next day I was to have 



210 MODEEN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

embarked on board of a steamer, which I had 
chartered for six hundred Finnish marks to take me 
through the Gulf of Finland to Reval, where I 
expected to appear, but it happened otherwise. 
The captain of the steamer came and told me that 
so much ice had formed since four o'clock in the 
afternoon, that a voyage across the Gulf could not 
be thought of. However, a large English steamer 
had been signaled, and it would arrive at six o'clock 
to take on freight for Hull, England. After talking 
with the captain of this steamer, he agreed to take 
me to E-eval for one thousand marks. It was mid- 
night when I got my baggage on board. To my 
surprise, I was then told that they could not think 
of starting on the voyage on account of the severe 
cold. Of course I could do nothing else but go by 
rail. I had to go first to St. Petersburg, and from 
there to Reval, and in this manner I would be com- 
pelled to go along the coast around the entire Gulf 
of Finland at an enormous expense. Taking my 
family with me, and wrapping ourselves up well 
w^ith furs, w^e left Helsingborg the next day on the 
train. On arriving at Abo, the first city in Finland, 
I had the good fortune not to be bothered with 
many formalities by the custom-house officials. 
This was also our good luck at St. Petersburg. They 
were very polite. The examination was short, and 
I was happy. It was extremely cold and we were 
all trembling from the efi'ects of it. We were glad 
to see a sleigh approaching, drawn by two horses. I 
had with me a card of the hotel where I intended 
stopping, and requested a passing officer to tell the 



MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 



211 



oflBcials in Russian; wliich I did not understand, 
where to drive us, and he did so. My son was in 
the first sleigh, my Avife and myself w^ere in the 
second. During the winter there, wlien there is no 
work in the country, it is the custom of the farmers 
to go to the cities with their sleighs and horses and, 
securing a license from the police department, make 
their living as teamsters or drivers. They are no 
more acquainted with the streets in the cities than 
foreigners are, and the only way to arrive at your 
destination is to know where you want to go and 
then tell the driver in this peculiar manner: You 
tap him with a cane or umbrella on the right or left 
shoulder, or point straight ahead, according to the 
direction you want him to go. Unfortunately at 
that time I knew nothing about this. The sleigh 
occupied by my son flew rapidly out of sight, our 
sleigh followed slowly. We must have ridden nearly 
an hour, still the Hotel deTEurope was not reached. 
It certainly could not be so far. I could not talk to 
the driver, but I knew a way to express my wishes; 
so, grabbing him by the collar, I shook him violently. 
I showed him a ruble, and gave vent to the only 
Russian word I knew, and exclaimed with vehemence, 
' Paschol.' We drove on for iialf an hour longer. 
We were suffering intensely from the extreme 
cold, and, notwithstanding our furs, we soon began 
to freeze. Again I shook the driver up, this time 
more severely, when he stopped, and for the first 
time I noticed that we were outside of the city, 
and had halted in front of the only house, a most 
wretched saloon. The driver got out and entered 



212 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

the house. We of course thought he was inquiring 
for the right way and would return quickly, because it 
had begun to grow dark. I waited a long time, and 
finally losing all patience, got out and entered the 
house. Imagine m}^ surprise when I saw the man 
sitting at a table behind a samovar full of tea, and a 
glass of vodki. The room was filled with the most 
terrible odors that ever offended my nostrils. 
Ascertaining that the landlady spoke German, I had 
her tell the driver what I wanted. I again got into 
the sleigh, accompained by the driver, and we 
returned to the city. I suspected nothing good from 
his actions, and accordingly was on my guard. My 
precautions, however, were unnecessary, for in about 
an hour we arrived at the hotel after making many 
inquiries. I related my experience to the head por- 
ter and asked him to pay the driver. He replied 
that he knew what he had to do in such a case, and 
instead of paying him in rubles he gave him a sound 
thrashing, which the driver received very meekly 
and departed in a very humble manner. I found 
awaiting me a telegram from Re val, relating to my 
engagement. What surprised me the most in the 
telegram was the date of it. It was dated fourteen 
days before the one I had seen the day before in 
Helsingborg. My curiosity had to be satisfied, and 
I found that I had forgotten the difference in time 
they have in Russia, which is not like that of the 
rest of the Christian world. What should I do ? I 
concluded it would be best to spend a fortnight in 
St. Petersburg, and look out for some engagements 
later on. I had with me a number of excellent 



MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 



213 



recoraraendations, and in four days I managed to 
have an audience with the Emperor of all the Kus- 
sians. He ordered a private performance in the 
Winter Palace. I should remark that during this 
performance I was very much disturbed by two 
splendid greyhounds, one of which jumped and 
pranced around me continuously on my impro- 
vised platform. I accidentally stepped on his 
foot and he howled most pitifully. I immedi- 
ately apologized for my awkwardness the more, 
I said, because I am very fond of dogs. ' You 
shall have one for a present soon if you stay here,' 
said the Emperor, smiling, 'and now take the dogs 
out.' I proceeded with the performance and gave 
my best tricks, or, as my wife said, ' played like an 
angel.' (May God pardon her!) This performance 
at the Emperor's caused considerable excitement and 
I received several other invitations. The Emperor 
kept his word, and at the end of eight weeks the 
promised greyhound was sent to me at Reval. He 
was a splendid animal, and I have him with me still. 
He is very intelligent, and is a dear souvenir 
of that unhappy monarch. I traveled through 
the Baltic provinces, and was undecided whether 
to go further, when I received flattering invitations 
to go to Berlin, which I decided to accept. There 
was one more city I had to visit ; it was Goldingen. 
In this city there are many families of the nobility 
who are very poor. In every city in Russia there is 
a casino for the noblemen, one for the students and 
one for the citizens. The one for the students only 
where there is a university. Of course there is also 



214 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

a casino for the noblemen in Goldingen, and it hap- 
pened to be in the very hotel where I wished to stop. 
On arrival 1 went into the parlor, showed my 
passports, registered and talked to the landlord as 
usual. I was very much surprised when he requested 
me to go to my rooms, adding: ' You have not been 
introduced to the members of the noblemen's casino, 
and as these are the club rooms, strangers can not 
sta}^ in them after six o'clock. It will be better for 
you to request one of the noblemen to introduce you.' 
Nowhere in the world had I met with such inhospi- 
tality, and I made up my mind not to humble myself 
or lower my pride. I was as proud as an Arab, or, if 
you prefer, as a Spaniard, and hence only went to 
see the members of the press. These gentlemen con- 
firmed what the landlord had told me, and added 
that but few rich merchants in the city had the 
honor to be members of the casino, and that the 
noble members were very poor, and most of them 
deeply in debt. The next morning, as I was looking 
out of the window of my room, I saw three gentle- 
men crossing the street. They did not go to the 
door, but came to the open window, and I heard 
them ask the question very plainly: 'Is anybody 
there ? ' Just as plainly I heard the answer of the 
landlord, who said, 'No.' Then the three gentle- 
men went away. The landlord had lied, because I 
knew positively there were four men in the lower 
room. I wanted to know the reason of this bare- 
faced lie, and went down stairs, for at this hour I 
need not ask anybody's permission. There by the 
window sat four men. and I could not refrain from 



MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 



215 



asking the landlord why he had answered ' No.' He 
smiled and said : ' My dear sir, do you not see the gen- 
tlemen in there are business men, those outside were 
noblemen, and by " anybody " they mean naturally 
their equals. We are used to it.' The next evening 
I gave my performance. The theatre was crowded, 
and just as I was about to give the signal to raise 
the curtain, several firemen appeared on the ex- 
tremely small stage and took their positions. Nobody 
had given me notice, as ought to have been according 
to law, and I refused to have them on the stage. 
Eight minutes passed. Out in the parquet were 
many students and boys who began to stamp their 
feet. I took the bell to give the signal when the 
chief of the fire department appeared. Three min- 
utes more elapsed, he went away. More noise out 
in the parquet. I w^as again on the point of begin- 
ning when the director of the police appeared on the 
stage. He was a very pleasant gentleman and told 
me he had given orders for the firemen to take 
positions in the orchestra. I thanked him. A 
regular storm now broke out in the parquet. I rang 
the bell and the curtain rose. Some of the boys 
continued the noise with their feet. I felt annoyed, 
and in a few words explained that the delay had 
been caused through no fault of mine, and, there- 
fore, for the sake of good manners, the stamping 
could have been omitted. They became quiet. The 
performance passed off to the satisfaction of all. I 
gave two more performances, but did not take a step 
toward being introduced to the casino. Some one 
belonging to the press told me that some of the 



216 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

members felt offended, but I kept my own counsel. 
On the morning of the day I wanted to go away, 
somebody knocked at my door. I called out, ' come 
in ; ' a strange gentleman entered and stood before 
me. Without any introduction, he addressed me as 
follows : ' The first evening of your performance you 
insulted in your speech the audience, with whom I 
and several members of the noblemen's casino were 
sitting. If you do not apologize immediately before 
several witnesses down stairs, you will bitterly 
regret the consequences.' ^ To whom have I the 
honor to speak, and what right,' I began, when he 
interrupted me by saying: 'I am the Circuit Judge, 
and if you do not immediately give the required 
satisfaction, I shall have your passport and luggage 
seized, and hand in a report against you.' Had I 
not owed my family some consideration, I could 
easily have discomfited the poor Avretch, but now I 
was in doubt what to do. My wife's opinion was to 
send a report to the emperor, but there would be 
much delay and annoyance. Again there was a 
knock at the door, and the good-natured face of the 
director of police looked in. 'This is an ugly affair, 
Mr. Seeman. What are you going to do'^ They 
have sent me to ask you for a decision. I advise you 
to apologize. You have really done no wrong, but 
the noblemen have decided to annoy you, and by 
bringing suit they can keep you here from two to 
three weeks. The judge will, of course, acquit you, 
but think of the inconvenience. I speak as your 
friend and am entirely on your side.' I could not 
possibly humble myself to do as those poor stuck-up 



MISC^ELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 



217 



noblemen wished, and refused point blank. 'But 
think of it,' said the good-natured man, ' they only 
ask you to comedown stairs and simply say, Excuse 
me, gentlemen." ' 'Don't they want anything more f 
I asked, as an idea flashed through my brain. ' No,' 
answered the polite director. ' Well, my dear friend 
if you wish to do me a favor, ask the gentlemen to 
give it to you in writing, then I will not have to go 
down stairs and make many words about it; I know 
you will do it, won't you?' 'Certainly, with the 
greatest of pleasure,' he replied. In about twenty 
minutes I heard steps on the stairs, and the police 
director entered the room with a paper, on which 
was written that the undersigned gentlemen would 
feel satisfied if I would only say, ' Excuse me, gen- 
tlemen.' I put the paper in my pocket and went 
down to the parlor. Six noblemen were sitting 
there. I went up to them, and while looking at one 
asked another: 'Is any of these gentlemen called 
Lehman?' All answered 'No.' I then said, 'I beg 
your pardon, gentlemen,' turned on my heel and 
walked out. Tableau. Nobody held me. I immedi- 
ately ordered the horses and smiling I entered the 
carriage, which drove off with us immediately." 

The same greyhound that Baron Seeman speaks 
of in above experience, was a most remarkable and 
intelligent animal. It remained in his family till 
the summer after the professor's death. Shortly 
after their return to Chicago it was so severely 
injured that they were obliged to have it killed. 
Baron Seeman was very fond of telling how, when 
they arrived at a town for the first time, he would 



218 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIE WOKKS. 

send his wife and daughter to the hotel, while his 
son and himself, accompanied by the dog, would go 
to the theatre, make their preparations, and when 
necessary would send the dog with a message tied 
around its neck, to the hotel for his wife and 
daughter, or for them to bring anything he needed, 
as the case might be. 'No matter how laro^e the 
town, or how large the hotel, the dog was never 
lost, and nothing could stop him, as he was often 
seen to spring over large obstructions in his way. 

In a previous chapter we have spoken about the 
Bamberg family. Years ago in the days of Robert 
Houdin, the favorite conjurer of the J^etherlands, 
was that skillful performer, " Old Bamberg." The 
simple announcement that Bamberg was coming to 
town was sufficient to fill the house every night to 
overflowing, stay as long as he might. He was par- 
ticularly skillful with cards, and his favorite amuse- 
ment, when traveling, was to prevail upon some 
fellow tourist tp play a game of cards with him, when 
Bamberg was always sure to deal himself all the 
trumps and his opponent got nothing. 

The following little adventure he went through 
with has been copied by nearly all conjurers since 
his time, as having occurred to themselves, although 
told differently in each case. He was making a 
short trip from Rotterdam to The Hague, by way of 
Delft. Seated in the same compartment of the car 
with him were two gentlemen, one of whom had 
entered after Bamberg. At Delft a dragoon in 
uniform entered. The train proceeded and in a little 
while Bamberg asked one of the gentlemen what 



MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 



219 



time it was. On looking for his watch it was 
missing. The other gentleman felt in his pocket 
and missed his handkerchief, and the dragoon 
missed his purse. An angry discussion arose, and in 
a few minutes the train reached The Hague. As 
soon as it stopped one of the gentlemen sent for the 
Commissionaire of Police, who is always on duty at 
the station, and demanded that Bamberg be searched, 
as they accused him of robbing them. Of course 
they were not aware that it was the con- 
jurer they were talking to. All went into 
the office of the Inspector of Police, who, on 
hearing the story each had to tell, insisted that the 
stranger, Bamberg, be searched to clear himself. 
While all the others were much excited, Bamberg* 
remained very cool, and now told the Inspector that 
it was unnecessary to search him, as he need only 
look in the dragoon's top boots, and he would find 
the handkerchief, the purse and the gentleman's 
watch, the chain of which was already hanging out 
of the top of one of his boots. The Inspector, who 
had begun to recognize Bamberg, now saw that they 
were victims of his skill, and in order to preserve 
the good humor of all, Bamberg explained how he 
picked their pockets, showing that he had done so 
just as they were entering the compartment of the 
car, convincing them how easily it could be done. 
He had slipped them into the boot of the dragoon 
as the latter passed out of the car ahead of him. 

Many of our readers have no doubt seen the won- 
derful performances of the noted D'Alvini. He 
was a Londoner, yet was known as " The Jap of 



220 MODEliN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

Japs." 'No other balancer or juggler has made such 
a wonderful success and reputation as he did. Al- 
though an Englishman, he fairly outdid the Japs, 
and although he had many imitators he has never 
had an equal in his peculiar line. A Chicago corres- 
pondent of one of the daily papers tells the follow- 
ing interesting story of D'Alvini's skill, and how he 
broke up some sharpers. D'Alvini was also a very 
skillful conjurer, and during one of his tours he 
was obliged to make a long voyage on a steamer. 
He was asked to join in a card party. Poker was 
the game, of course, and the stakes, at first small, 
gradually increased as the limit was shoved up and 
up toward the ceiling. D'Alvini played in misera- 
ble luck and lost steadily. No matter how good his 
hand was, some one held a little better one. This 
went on until our conjurer lost several hundred dol- 
lars, nearly all the money he had in the world. It 
was only at the last minute that he discovered that 
he had been ' * done up " by card sharpers. Suppos- 
ing all the time that he had been playing with gen- 
tlemen, he had taken no advantage of his skill as 
a sleight-of-hand performer, and as all good con- 
jurers do, played honestly through the game. Now, 
however, he determined upon revenge, and before 
going to bed he went to the purser and purchased 
every pack of cards that worthy had for sale. Then 
he sat up all night in his state-room doctoring 
these cards, and in the morning took them back to 
the purser along with a fifty dollar bill, and told him 
to put them back in his stock. The purser — who- 
ever knew a purser to refuse an honest penny — did 



MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 



221 



SO, and after breakfast D'Alvini borrowed a hun- 
dred and fifty dollars from the captain by put- 
ting up his watch, and then he invited the sharp- 
ers to play. In a few minutes they were at it 
again ! " Gentlemen," said D'Alvini, " I suspect 
that this game was hardly fair last night, and I am 
now going to make an effort to get even, and 
shall insist upon using a fresh deck of cards 
after every deal. Of course the gamblers had no 
objections, and the game commenced with that 
understanding. D'Alvini had every deck fixed, and 
the way that one hundred and fifty dollars of his 
grew was a caution. In addition to his doctoring of 
the cards, he rung in on them all his wonderful 
skill in sleight-of-hand, and though he was one man 
against three, he virtually cleaned out the crowd, 
getting all his money back, and quitting winner 
with over fifteen hundred dollars besides. 

Anent the skill of the original and renowned Carl 
Herrmann, the press of Paris tell how a practical 
joke was played on him in that city during the time 
when a Patagonian village was on exhibition there 
a few years ago. He made a visit to these aborigi- 
nes, accompanied by a number of prominent people, 
and astonished these raw natives by pulling apples, 
oranges and coins out of their noses, ears and abbre- 
viated excuses for garments. A short time after 
leaving them he was asked the time of day, and 
then discovered that, while he had been amusing 
these savages with his tricks and skill, they had pur- 
loined his watch from his pocket without being dis- 
covered. 



222 MODERN MAGICIANS AND TIlfilR WORKS. 

Many of the remarkable adventures told about 
magicians, and which have been circulated round 
among the newspapers for the last twenty-nve 
years, are fully a century old, and nearly all of them 
have been copied from old works or histories of 
magicians who flourished nearly an hundred j^ears 
ago. Of course these tales have been brushed up 
with new names and surroundings to make them 
appear original and modern. Professors Alexander 
Herrmann and Harry Kellar have made much use 
of these old tales redressed. One would naturally 
think that, from their extended experience and 
travels, they could furnish something more origi- 
nal in the way of adventures to dilate upon. This 
shows the great lack of originality of many modern 
professors. They have, with but very few excep- 
tions, followed in the footsteps of their predeces- 
sors. This lack of originality accounts for the lack 
of success of the many hundreds who have started 
in the art and very soon dropped out of it, being 
unable to devote the necessary time and study to the 
development of it, and not possessing sufficient 
genius or skill. There are very few" professionals will- 
ing or even able to buy anything that is particularly 
new, striking or original. Those who have done so 
have invariably succeeded the most, and with very 
few exceptions have obtained considerable promi- 
nence. Another reason of failure of young men 
who start out in this line is that they are often 
praised by managers w^ho hope to make something 
through their endeavors, and who are injudicious 
enough to praise their performances when the same 
should not be tolerated. 



MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES. 



223 



Another thing which deserves condemnation from 
all persons interested in the art, or its success, is the 
exposing of their tricks by incompetent performers. 
We call to mind the performances of Prof. Zanzic, 
of whom we have spoken in a previous chapter, and 
who, w^hile playing an engagement at the Eden 
Musee in Chicago, found his drawing powers on the 
wane. He, to lend an additional attraction, exposed 
all his tricks, and he had a large assortment. It is 
almost needless to remark that he totally failed in 
drawing any larger audiences. In fact, he did not 
draw as well as he did when he commenced his 
engagement. 

An American audience does not thank any person 
for exposing secrets, and they know at once that he 
is only doing it because he is incapable of performing 
them properly. The audience enjoys them much 
more w^hen in ignorance of how the tricks are per- 
formed. This reminds us of a little incident which 
happened at DeBars Theatre, St. Louis, during the 
performance of the illusion knowm as "Prof. Pep- 
per's Ghost." An elderly, rather corpulent gentle- 
man positively "kicked" because "a knowing indi- 
vidual " insisted on explaining to him how" the ghost 
was worked. Indeed, the said corpulent gentleman 
did not wish to know anything about it. He feared 
the enjoyment of the trick would be spoiled. He 
was a true philosopher, and such is really the case 
with mankind in general. It is a fact that perform- 
ers who have exposed their tricks have never 
attained any permanent success, and they never 
will. 



224 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

Right here we might mention a few peculiarities 
of the four leading nations of the world as seen in 
the audiences from the stage of a conjurer. Ger- 
mans, and by this we mean audiences in Germany 
only, will, as far as possible, seek to discover how a 
trick is being done, providing the conjurer is working 
amongst them ; and should he make use of any assist- 
ants from the audience he is very likely to get into 
trouble, as they will endeavor to prevent the suc- 
cessful termination of the trick in their zeal to find 
out how it's done. " In England, audiences as a 
rule look on with very little appreciation one way or 
the other — like the Jack Tar and his parrot, 
always waiting to see what will come next — but when 
they have once formed a liking for a performer, he 
becomes a great favorite. French audiences like a 
gentleman who is quick, strictly original, and above 
all, brilliant in his patter, and catching in his man- 
ner, and who can make things go with a dash. The 
Americans remind us of what the great Barnum, the 
emperor of modern showmen, has said, namely, that 
all Americans want is to be humbugged, and the 
greater the humbug the more they like it. This 
is true, and an American audience will invariably 
do all it can to assist a performer in carrying out 
his tricks to a successful termination with greater 
zeal than any other nationality. 

Conjurers from the continent of Europe have, as a 
rule, succeeded better than those from Great Britain, 
because they are noted for giving more time and 
study to their entertainments than the Englishmen 
do. Even many of the Dime Museum performers 



MISCELLANKOUS SKETCHES. 



225 



here surpass their English brethren in skill. The 
conjurers in America are better posted on what is 
going on in different parts of the world in their line, 
than the artists of Great Britian are. No trick nor 
publication can appear in Germany, France, or Eng- 
land without being known in America, or repub- 
lished here in the course of two or three weeks. 
We have known tricks to have been on the market 
in Germany, France and the United States for many 
months, and even years, before they were introduced 
in England. We account for this by the old and 
well known saying that " large bodies move slowly," 
and an Englishman's mind is quite a cumbersome 
affair. We are now speaking of the ordinary class 
of performers, and are happy to state that there 
are a few brilliant exceptions. 

It is somewhat remarkable that during the past 
decade very few ladies have entered the profession. 
It is one particularly adapted to a lady, and there is 
no reason why one with a fine outfit and proper 
schooling should not obtain the same and even 
greater success than the gentlemen. There certainly 
is a fine field in the art for ladies. There is no 
longer a mystery surrounding the performances of 
the modern conjurers. There seems to be no reason 
to suppose that conjuring entertainments' of a high 
order, conducted in a proper and legitimate manner 
will ever lose their popularity. Future Conjurers 
must be persons of ability, education and skill, and 
be able to produce original and interesting effects in 
a pleasing and attractive form. 



APPENDIX. 



KOTE 1. 

" What is the principle of memory ? " asks the 
writer we have quoted in Chapter YII. " It is," 
says he, "that a conception or an idea can only be 
caused by another when it is connected directly or 
indirectly with the latter ; or, to make it, perhaps, a 
little clearer, vrhen there is a direct or indirect con- 
nection between the two." We deduct from this the 
general principle of memory, namely, every repre- 
sentation or idea to be repeated voluntarily must 
refer directly or indirectly to another which is 
already familiar. In this manner we arrive at our 
system, which, in short, is a code system. In it we 
represent the ten numbers or digits by a numerical 
arrangement of sounds or sound words, and key 
words. The ten numbers or digits, 12345678 
9 0, we represent by the sounds of certain con- 
sonants, thus : 

1 by T, or its equivalent D. 6 by sh, ch, tch, j or G (soft). 

2 by N. 7 by K, G, ng, Q or c (hard). 

3 by M. 8 by F or Y. 

4 l)y K. 9 by B or P. 

5 by H. by S, Z or C soft (hissing sound), 

226 



APPENDIX. 



227 



That these are cognate sounds we can easily deter- 
mine by taking any word in which they occur and 
asking ourselves how a foreigner would pronounce it. 
For instance, the word '* judge," it becomes ''chudge," 
"shudge,"or "tchudge." " This,"is dis." 'Taper," 
is "baper," etc. Now, having once learned the 
sounds that represent the letters, we form words in 
which these sounds occur, once, twice or thrice, as 
we want them. These words it is best for ever}^ 
person to form for himself; but to help the reader 
towards this T will explain further : 



No. 1 is T. ea. 
" 2 is K oe. 
" 3 is M. ay. 



No. 4 is R. ye. 
" 5 is L. ow. 

" 6 is Sh. ow, 



And so on, and say 116 would be Toad Show. The 
vowels count for nothing. It is best to make the 
words, and understand that this list of words is arbi- 
trary, and must not be changed; something strong ; 
something you will always remember, even if 
ridiculous, as in the case of 116. Having once 
made the list of words, say to the extent of 100, 
and memorized them, a study of only half 
an hour, when your sounds are borne in mind, 
you are ready to apply them. They can be 
applied to almost anything that it is desired to 
remember. As we wish to speak particularly of 
instantaneous memorization, let us glance at the 
manner in which well known teachers of the art, 
and prominent conjurers apply it. When your 100 



228 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

words are memorized you can have any person write 
on a slate a list of numbered words — say to extent of 
100 — if possible the names of articles ; when this is 
done, have them read aloud, and, as each word is 
read, make a mental picture connecting it with the 
sound word in your vocabulary that corresponds to 
its number. These pictures must be vivid ; for 
instance. No. 1 is an umbrella, form a picture of 
a tea party in open air ; it commences to rain, so they 
hoist an umbrella over the group. If No. 5, in the 
list, should be a table, picture a low man on a high 
table delivering an oration. You first think of your 
key word, which, in this case, is Tea, No. 1, and your 
mind reverts to the tea party, umbrella scene. Again, 
No. 5, I see a low (5) man on a big table, etc., so you 
can run the list backwards and forwards, or in hap- 
hazard order, giving any number called for. As an 
introduction, you can speak of Lady Macbeth calling 
"Memory the warder of the mind," and must award 
her the merit of being up to snuff — Scotch snuff, pre- 
sumably. Then remark that we must not make 
light of such a dark subject, as, in your opinion, a 
man can not hold a candle to woman in the matter 
of memory, instancing the fact of a woman in 
church taking in at a glance and remembering every 
new article of dress her neighbors wear, etc. The 
following is a code that can be easily remembered 
when the letters representing the sounds are first 
memorized as mentioned above. 



APPENDIX. 



229 



1 


Tea 


26 Niche 


51 Lead 


76 Coach 


2 


Noe 


27 Nag 


52 Line 


77 Cake 


3 


May 


28 Navy 


53 Lime 


78 Cutf 


4 


Rye 


29 Nib 


54 Lyre 


79 Cab 


5 


Low 


30 Mace 


55 Lily 


80 Face 


6 


Show 


ol Mat 


56 Lash 


81 Vat 


7 


Key 


32 Moon 


57 Leg 


82 Fan 


8 


Fay 


33 IVIummy 


58 Leaf 


83 Foam 


9 


Bee 


34 Mare 


59 Lip 


84 Fire 


10 


Dice 


35 Mole 


60 Chaise 


85 File 


11 


Toad 


36 Mush 


61 Shed 


86 Fish 


12 


Tin 


37 Mick 


62 Shin 


87 Fig 


13 


Dime 


38 Muir 


63 Sham 


88 Fife 


14 


Door 


39 Map 


64 Share 


89 Fop 


15 


Tile 


40 Rice 


65 Shell 


90 Baize 


16 


Dish 


41 Rat 


66 Judge 


91 Bot 


17 


Deek 


42 Rain 


67 Chalk 


92 Bone 


18 


Dove 


43 Ram 


68 Shave 


93 Beam 


19 


Tube 


44 Rarey 


69 Chop 


94 Boar 


20 


Noose 


45 Rail 


70 Case 


95 iiell 


21 


Net 


46 Rash 


71 Coat 


96 Bush 


22 


Nun 


47 Rake 


72 Can 


97 Bug 


23 


Name 


48 Reef 


73 Comb 


98 Beef 


24 


Nero 


49 Rope 


74 Chair 


99 Baby 


25 


Nail 


50 Lace 


75 Coal 


100 Disease. 



After deciding on your key-word never change it. 
At first glance the above looks very formidable to 
learn, but as mentioned before, when you know the 
ten consonants and their equivalents it is child's 
play. In the Knight's Tour of the chess-board, as 
shown by Kellar on the stage, a code of sixty-four 
words similar to above is used. Dr. Adam Miller, of 
Chicago, gives one in his work on memory, as do the 
little hand-books on Parlor Magic published by Dick 
& Fitzgerald, of New York. 



NOTE 2. 



Application No. 1148 to English Patent Com- 
missioners IN London. 

Provisional Specification left hy Owen Grenliffe War- 
ren at the office of the Commissioner of Patents, 
with his petition, on the ^2Jf,th of Ajjril, 1865. 

"I, Owen Grenliffe Warren, of the City, County, 
and State of New York, in the United States of 
America, do hereby declare the nature of the said 
invention for ^PHILOSOPHICAL EXAMINA- 
TION INTO THE ALLEGED SPIRIT MANL 
FESTATIONS, CONSISTING OF A LAMP 
AND A CLOSE POOM,' to be as follows : 

" This invention relates to the use of means for 
determining the truth or falsity of alleged Spiritual 
Manifestations. In order that the experiment of 
elucidating the matter may be carefully tried and 
definitely proved, it is expedient that the experi- 
menter be protected by Letters Patent for especial 
process. I construct a close room and use a peculiar 
light therein ; I paint the walls, floor, and ceiling 
with care, and filter the light that is used. The room 
must be close, and have no open door or window ; it 
should be air tight, though some air may be admitted 
for ventilation, but it is better to have a reservoir of 

m 



APPENDIX. 



231 



air held under pressure in a tank in the room to be 
allowed on turning a faucet to escape in the room 
for comfortable breathing ; it will issue from the 
room through unavoidable apertures. The light used 
may be that from the combustion of hydrocarbon, 
but it should be m.ade to pass through a liquid 
colored blue, black, or violet. So little light should 
appear through it (however much gas may be 
burned) that the room will seem entirely dark at 
first, but the person shut in will grow to perceive 
the hght, and objects in the room will become visi- 
ble. In such a room with this light there is a chance, 
if any chance exists, that spirits may become dis- 
tinctly visible. For the reason that spirits are not 
seen it may be assumed that the light is too coarse; 
it passes through them, and does not reflect from the 
surface. In order to see them at all, it would there- 
fore appear the light must be exceedingly minute, 
and therefore it must be filtered. The kind of paint 
proper for painting the walls, floor and ceiling of the 
closed room is that which in chemistry is known as 
being akin to carbon. Dolomite or magnesia prop- 
erly prepared is good ; spirits of turpentine or alco- 
hol may be employed for mixing the paint." 

It is almost needless to remark that the Commis- 
sioners refused Provisional Protection. 



NOTE 3. 



La Stroubaika Peksane. 

During the past six montiis there has been consid- 
erable notice taken of the latest illusion, " Strobeika" 
in the theatrical papers, as well as the daily press. 
The following explanation of this illusion is taken 
from the New York Herald^ of December 21st, 1890 : 
At regular intervals, the mechanical geniuses of 
the stage and illusion halls produce a new trick, a 
new illusion or deception. 

" Starting with the London ghost show, which was 
the first, and ending with ' Strobeika,' which is the 
last, each has had its brief era of prosperity and then 
given way to a new trick. Those deceptions of the 
past seasons which now have only secondary places 
on the programme of the necromancer I will not 
write of in this column, but say something of the 
last one, which has been produced with the customary 
advance blow of trumpets and hifalutin stories from 
an energetic press agent. 

" Professor Herrmann, with the aid of much nicely 
painted scenery, grewsome green lights, and silken 
draperies, is responsible for the first production of 
this last marvel of mechanical trickery in this city 
and the United States. From time to time I have 

332 



APPE^VDIX. 



233 



told the readers of the Ilerald how all the promi- 
nent illusions, tricks, and automata are made, the 
manner in which they are operated, and who 
invented them, and where they were first exhibited, 
and something, generally, of their history. Professor 
Herrmann's ^ Strobeika ' shall not be slighted, since 
it is quite clever, and simple enough to class with 
the best of the illusionary entertainments. 

''Since the trick is a new one, I will give a brief 
description of the way it looks to Professor Herr- 
mann's audience. 

" The double curtain opens slowly and discloses a 
scene representing a dungeon, the back of which is 
very dark, and the shadows on the stage are further 
heightened by a ghostly greenish light. In the cen- 
ter of the stage, quite near the back scene, stand 
four light upright metal posts or poles about eight 
feet tall and set about eight feet apart on the long 
way and four feet on the short. 

" A plank an inch and a quarter thick is suspended 
a yard above the stage by four double brass chains 
from the poles in full view of the audience. A man 
is stretched upon the plank, his wrists and arms are 
manacled and locked by a committee from the 
audience, his neck is enclosed in a steel collar and 
locked to the plank. At a signal a short curtain, 
concealing only the prisoner and the plank, permit- 
ting a full view underneath to the wall of the stage, 
is drawn, and in a minute or more is withdrawn 
again. In place of the prisoner is secured a beauti- 
ful young girl, clad in page's costume. At the 
instant of the girl's discovery, the man — the original 



234 



MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



prisoner — is seen runnii g down one of the aisles of 
the theatre. 

" That is what Professor Herrmann calls ' Stro- 
beika,' and he gives it that name so as to fit the 
trick to a very touching Eussian legend about an 
exile of that name. 

" The trick, of course, is the disappearance of the 
manacled prisoner and the substitution of the girl, 
also securely manacled and locked in the position 
the man formerly was, the keys to the padlocks 
being still in the possession of a disinterested com- 
mittee. 

" Professor Herrmann's ' Strobeika,' under another 
name, was originally produced about eighteen 
months ago in Paris, at a place known as Houdin's 
Little Hall, and was invented and worked by two 
Germans, Ilerr Lutz and Markgraf. The illusion 
caught on right awa}^ and Cinquevalli, the juggler^ 
saw it and purchased the plans and right to work it 
in Berlin, where it also achieved success. A little 
later Carl Hertz, an American magician, bought the 
right and produced ' Strobeika ' under another 
name at the Alhambra, in London, and about the 
same time a New York man, who is interested in a 
cheap local entertainment, saw the illusion, brought 
it to America and sold the plans to Professor Herr- 
mann. 

" About the same time the Herald man, with his 
weather eye open for novelties in the illusionary 
line, heard of this particular one and made haste to 
get the plans and idea from Paris as well. 

"To make sure they are about the same, I was one 



APPENDIX. 



235 



of the committee of three that shackled Professor 
Herrmann's prisoner the first night, and locked one 
of his padlocks myself. 

"The solid ends of the iron manacles are hinged so 
that they open toward the center, in the case of the 
two used to shackle the arms. In the other two the 
hinges are on the left. When neck, feet and arms 
are in proper position the irons are bent down over 
a staple, which staple is set in a bed of metal. Just 
remember that staple bed, for it is there the princi- 
pal part of the trick lies. The padlocks are passed 
through the staples and are locked by the committee, 
who keeps the keys. 

" There is no deception about the keys^ locks or 
manacles, since it is not at all necessary to the 
deception that there should be. A movable frame, 
concealed inside the board, which is hollow, and 
this frame is moved by a lever also cunningly con- 
cealed inside the board, which — but that's another 
story. 

" When the lever is moved it releases all the hooks 
which hold the staple beds firm, and, of course, with 
a little upward pressure, these beds lift out of their 
places in the surface plate and fly back, together 
with the padlocks, which, please remember, are still 
locked. 

" The prisoner is then, of course, free, and it is but 
the work of a moment to climb out through an 
opening in the curtains at the back, where the lady 
who is to take his place is now waiting on the end 
of a long board pushed out through an opening in 
the scene. The lady gets on the trick board and the 



236 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

man slams the manacles into place, presses the staple 
beds home again, and goes away through the back 
of the stage and around to the front of the theatre 
to appear at the minute the curtain canopy is again 
raised. That concealed lever spoken of can be 
either moved by the manacled man or it can be 
moved by the substitute. 

"In Paris it was moved by the prisoner the minute 
the curtains were drawn down far enough to conceal 
his hands, and by the time the curtains had been let 
down far enough to conceal the board he was free 
and ready to leap out the back. 

"The little handle of the lever which moves the 
frame which releases the staple beds is a cunningly 
simulated screw-bolt head placed in the lower right- 
hand corner of the plate, to w^hich the right-hand 
manacle is fastened. This screw-bolt runs through 
the plate on the board into the lever frame. A 
simple pressure of the fingers on the bolt-head to the 
right about two inches is all that is necessary to free 
the staple beds, and a similar movement back to the 
left locks the staple beds again. 

" The little runway of the bolt is so carefully fitted 
as to deceive the committee in the dim light given 
them on the stage. To provide against the commit- 
tee discovering the movement of the screw-head 
there is a small plate placed under the other plate. 
This holds the screw-head in position until the 
operator introduces a small piece of metal, which he 
holds in his right hand. By pushing this under the 
edge of the top plate he is enabled to slide the small 
plate away from the screw, and the latter is now 



APPENDIX. 



237 



movable. While the committee are on the stage, of 
course the panel in the scenery is closed. 

" A plank, which is practically a bridge, is thrust 
through the hole and across the intervening space 
between the curtain and the scenery, and the prisoner 
and the substitute get out and in the curtained inclos- 
ure in that way, without ever having to put their feet 
on the ground. If they did get down as low as the 
stage level the audience would be able to see their 
booted legs. 

" There is, of course, a slit in the back of the 
curtain to admit the bridge. The four poles being 
set eight feet apart up and down the stage naturally 
cover a wide angle of vision, and prevent that part 
of the audience sitting in the boxes or sides of the 
theater from seeing the rapid transit of the two 
workers of the trick, and as all the committee, after 
they have locked the padlocks, are carefully re- 
quested to leave the stage, no one is apt to discover 
this part of the illusion." 

While the explanation given above is quite clever, 
it is scarcely correct in all its details, but close 
enough for a newspaper article. The true history 
of this illusion is as follows : 

Mr. M. Hermann, the well known manufacturer 
of Berlin, is the original inventor. He sold the first 
one to the Pinauds, who in turn disposed of it to 
Prof. Duperrey ; this gentleman produced it in Paris 
during the exposition, not giving the sensational 
ending to it of substituting the lady for the man, 
which was also Mr. Hermann's idea. Keturning to 
Berlin, after seeing it performed in Paris by Duperrey, 



238 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

he improved it in this manner and produced it there. 
He had considerable success with it and sold a large 
number of them, sending the plans of it at once to a 
manufacturer of conjuring apparatus in Chicago, 
who offered it for sale a year before it was produced 
in this country. None of the American conjurers 
would take hold of it, probably because they have 
not sufficient enterprise to start in with an original 
expensive novelty and be the first ones to reap the 
benefit ; they wait for somebody else to make a 
start and then they are willing and anxious to take 
hold. A Mr. Schwiegerling, who is well known as 
a clever manipulator of Marionettes, was the first to 
produce it in this country, performing it in Chicago. 
Sometime afterwards a conjurer, unknown to fame, 
brought one to New York, and, not being able to 
produce it successfully, was obliged to give it up, 
and sold it to Prof. Alexander Herrmann, who pro- 
duced it at his theatre. His production of it called 
forth the expose in the New York Herald. The 
illusion was originally introduced under the name of 
"La Stroubaika persane," but Prof. Herrmann 
rechristened it "Russian "and made up quite an 
interesting plot for it. 

Shortly after returning to Berlin, Mr. M. Her- 
mann sold one to the American conjurer, Carl 
Hertz, who took it to London. A number of imi- 
tations at once sprang up there and Mr. Hermann 
offered his for sale through the columns of "The 
Era," the leading theatrical journal of that city. 
In a short time he was greatly surprised to receive 
notice that Carl Hertz had taken out a patent on it 



APPENDIX. 



239 



in England and had published a warning to all per- 
sons not to buy nor make use of the same. To 
quote the words of one of the most prominent con- 
jurers abroad : " Such actions as this cause society 
to look down on the conjuring fraternity, and pre- 
vent many of them from attaining the success they 
deserve." 

No person could obtain a patent on anything like 
that in the United States after he had purchased it 
from somebody else, but the English patent laws 
are not so strict as ours ; therefore, Mr. Hertz was 
able to take out the patent that he was not entitled 
to, there being no rights in such an illusion, or 
invention, as this, unless it is fully covered in all 
countries by patents taken out by the original 
inventor, which usually costs more than a conjurer 
is willing to pay. 

Since taking out the patent on Stroubaika, Mr. 
Hertz has also taken out a patent in England on the 
suspension used and patented here by Will B. Wood. 
He re-christened it "Aerolite." In case Mr. Wood 
desires in the future to produce his illusion in Eng- 
land, he can be stopped by Mr. Hertz unless some 
understanding was arrived at between them, in re- 
gard to Mr. Hertz patenting it there. Somewhat 
similar to " Stroubaika " is the Palanquin Trick. 

In an opera called "Les Amours du Diable," 
produced in Paris some years ago, says Chambers's 
Journal, there was a curious scene which puzzled all 
who saw it. A slight palanquin — constructed in 
such a manner that it was obvious that there was 
no possibility of its having a double bottom— was 



240 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

brought upon the stage supported on the shoulders 
of slaves. The actress who occupied it withdrew 
the curtains and gave some orders to her attendants. 
Then the curtains were closed for an instant and 
again reopened. But the occupant of the palanquin 
had disappeared. What had become of her ? The 
feat had been executed close to the front of the 
stage and under a brilliant light, and the spectators 
could plainly see that it was certain that the lady 
had not gone down a trap. The mystery remained 
for some time unsolved. The explanation of the 
puzzle was simply this: The pillars of the palan- 
quin appeared to be very slight, but instead of being 
wood they were hollow metal tubes. Through these 
tubes ropes ran on pulleys at the top of the palan- 
quin, descending in the inside, and fastened to the 
frame on which was placed the silk cushion on which 
the actress reclined. To the other end of the ropes 
was attached a heavy weight which exactly balanced 
that of the lady. One of the slaves was imperson- 
ated by an expert machinist. As soon as the cur- 
tains were drawn he pulled a cord which released 
the counterpoise, and the frame, together with its 
burden, rose to the dome of the palanquin. There 
the actress lay quite comfortably, a wire gauze over- 
head enabling her to breath freely. Pains had been 
taken in the construction of the palanquin to make 
it appear frail, while in reality it was very strongly 
built, that tiie roof might bear the strain upon it of 
the weight it had to support. The bearers were 
men selected for their muscular strength, and they 



APPENDIX. 



241 



were drilled in the practice of taking up the palan- 
quin — after the disappearance of its occupant — and 
carry it off the stage at a sharp trot, as if it were 
empty. 



NOTE 4. 



Robert Heller's Second-Sight Code. 

A foreign journal gives the following explanation : 
Eobert Heller, or rather Robert Palmer — for the 
latter was the name under which he graduated at the 
King's College, London — gob his idea of second-sight 
after witnessing a performance of the celebrated 
Houdin in England. The great French prestidigita- 
teur never imparted the secret to any save his son, 
who was his coadjutor, but Palmer, or Heller, as we 
shall call him, after witnessing the exhibition, dis- 
carded the then prevalent notion of animal magnet- 
ism, and at once concluded that the identification of 
the article by the blindfolded boy depended upon an 
alphabetical arrangement by which the question was 
propounded. 

After much study he succeeded in perfecting a 
system which, though differing in detail from that 
of the Frenchman, was theoretically the same, and 
he forthwith sought an apt pupil to assist him in 
presenting the mystery to the public. This, be it 
remembered, was not easy, for the interrogated 
party had a much more diflScult task in the solution 
of the alphabetically put question than he had in 

242 



APPENDIX. 



243 



propounding it, so that upon an average not one in 
a hundred was successful in sufficiently perfecting 
himself to appear in public. 

Heller's second-sight was, in fact, a much more 
complicated affair than that of Houdin's. It was 
considerabl}^ enlarged, and comprehended at least 
double the number of questions and answers, embrac- 
ing in its range almost every conceivable article 
which could be presented by an audience. In the 
course of a long interview with Mr. Fred Hunt, Jr., 
the Times obtained the above facts and the follow- 
ing full and interesting statement: I was twelve 
years of age when I became Heller's pupil, and intri- 
cate and perplexing as it may appear to those who 
examine the subjoined table, I succeeded in six weeks 
in so comprehending it that at the expiration of that 
time, we gave at Smith & JSTixon's hall an exhibition, 
when I underwent a severe test without a blunder. 
It is not so long ago, but many who read this will 
remember the occasion. In the meantime, during 
the years we were together, Heller was constantly 
enlarging and perfecting his system. He is fiow 
gone, and has solved a greater mystery than that 
which puzzled so many thousands while he was on 
earth, and I believe that his sister, Haidee Heller, 
and myself are the only living persons in whom 
Kobert Heller's second-sight is vested. A short time 
since, a writer in a N'ew York journal attempted an 
expose of the mystery, which was extensively copied 
by the press throughout the country, and reproduced 
in some of the English papers, but it was so tangled 
and inexplicable as to so confound the question that 



244 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

it would be impossible for the party interrogated to 
come to anything near a correct answer. Heller had 
so simplified the system as to embrace every variet}^ 
of article classified in sets, as will be shown in the 
accompanying table — one question, with a word or 
two added, sufficing to elicit a correct answer for ten 
different articles. 

The student must be first posted in a new alpha- 
betical arrangement, with which he must familiarize 
himself as thoroughly as a boy in learning his primer. 
This is the most difficult part of the business, but 
when mastered thoroughly it comes as easy as if the 
question were plainty propounded. 

FOR EXAMPLE, 

you want the initials or name in a ring. Say it is 
Anna. By the alphabetical arrangement (see the 
appendix below) H stands for A, D for JS". The 
exclamation ''Hurry up" always means a repetition 
of the last letter, and again H will give the answer 
when put as follows: 

" Here is a name." 

"Do you see it?" 

" Hurry up." 

"Have you got it?" 

Attention is only paid to the first letter of every 
sentence, and it will be perceived that the name of 
Anna is spelled. 

Again, take Gazette, which is abbreviated in a 
phonographic manner in order to simplify the ques- 
tion. G is A, A is H, Z is hurry (not hurry up), E 
is F, T is P. The question would be — 

"' Are you able to tell the name ? " 



APPENDIX. 



245 



" Here it is." 

Hurry." 
" Find the name." 
"Please be quick." 

Here you have GAZET in short meter. The let- 
ters K, U, X, and Z being difficult wherewith to com- 
mence an interrogative sentence, the words " pray," 
"look," "see this," and " hurry are used, as will be 
seen in the table. Care must be taken not to com- 
mence a sentence with either of these words, unless 
applicable to the word to be spelled. For instance, 
if Xenia is required X is " see this," E is F, N is D, I 
is B, and A is H. Thus the question. 

"See this?" 

" Find it quick." 

" Do hurry." 

" Be quick." 

" How is it spelt ? " 

Again, for the initials U. S., vou will say — 

" Look." 

"ISTow then." 

U is look and S is N. 

If you want Kentucky named thus, the question — 
"Pray name the State." 
" Quick." 

" Pray " is K, and Q is Y. After the alphabet, 
we have the numbers, which, it will be seen, are 
easily understood after a little practice. 

For ISTo. 1 — The words used are Say or Speak. 

For Iso. 2 — Be, Look or Let. 

For 'No. 3— Can or Can't. 

For ISTo. 4— Do or Don't. 



24:6 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIK WORKS. 



For No. 5— Will or Won't. 

For No. 6— What. 

For No. 7— Please or Pray. 

For No. 8— Are or Ain't. 

For No. 9— Now. 

For No. 10— Tell. 

For No. — Hurry or Come. 

" Well " means to repeat the last figure. Example 
— The number 1,234 is required; attention must only 
be paid to the first word of a sentence, thus — 

" Say the number." 

" Look at it." 

" Can you see it 'i " 

" Do you know ! " 

Or say the number is 100 — 

" Tell me the number." 

" Hurry ! " 

A rather difficult number would be 1,111. The 
question would be put in this wise — 
" Say the number." 

Well." 
" Speak out." 
" Say what it is." 

On a watch or a greenback there are sometimes 
eight or nine numbers, which can be followed as 
easily as the above. There are eight colors which 
Avill comprise the list as they are set forth in the 
table, and the solution of the numbers, as I have 
explained, will furnish the key; for example, the 
article presented is green, the question will be — 

What is the color ? " 
—green being the sixth color in the list. Blue is 



APPENDIX. 



2i7 



wanted, and as it stands third in tiie list, the word 
would be — 

" Can you tell the color ? " 

White is wanted, and as it stands first in the list, 
the question is — 
" Say the color." 

Understand that the words explaining the numbers, 
as given in the list, are applied to the articles enu- 
merated in each of the subjoined tables. Take the 
metals, for instance. The metal presented is copper, 
which is fourth in the list. The question would 
be— 

"Do you know the metal?" Or steel, which is 
ninth in the list — 

" T^ow, what is the metal i " 

ARTICLES IN SETS. 

It will be seen that the different articles are 
arranged in sets, numbering no more than ten. Each 
set has at the head a different question, worded very 
nearly alike, so as to make the audience believe that 
the same question is being constantly asked. The 
question at the head of the set, which is ahvays 
asked first, is the clue to the set which contains 
the article to be described. Each set is numbered, 
as in the cases of the colors and metals, and the 
word conveys each particular article. 

For the first set the question is — 

" "What article is this ? " 

This gives the clue to ten distinct articles. The 
next demand may be — 

" Can you tell ? " 
— which would be solution for bag," it being the 
third in the list. 



248 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIK WOEKS. 

" Say the fabric," 
— the reply would be " silk," that being the first in 
the line of fabrics, and as I have before stated, " say " 
representing iSTo. 1. If a leather bag, it would be — 
Will you tell the fabric ? " 

a 'Will " standing for No. 5. A handkerchief is 
presented, and the question is — " What article is 
this ? Say," which explains that it is a handkerchief, 
as that is the first article in the list. " Can you tell 
the fabric ? " " Cotton," cotton standing third in the 
list of fabrics. Then, again, if you want the color — 
say it is blue — Can't you tell the color ? " Blue," 
which stands third on the list of colors. A watch 
embodies a greater number of questions than almost 
any other article. If you want to describe it fully, 
it is first in the second set, the key of which is — 

" What is this ? " 

We will say that it is a lady's gold watch, double 
case, three hands, made by Tobias, No. 9,725, the 
initials "from B. C. to C. H." engraved on the case, 
the year 1860, and blue enameled, set with five 
diamonds. This is a complex question, and must be 
put and answered as follows: 

Question — " What is this, say? " 

Answer — " A watch." 

Q. "Say the metal?" 

A. " Gold." 

Q. " Say to whom it belongs". 

A. " A lady." 

Q. "Yes?" 

A. " A double case." 

Q. " Can you tell the number of hands ? " 



APPENDIX. 



24:9 



A. " Three." 

Q. Will you tell the maker ? " 

A. Tobias." 

Q. " JSTow, the number ? " 

" Please tell me." 

"Be quick." 

" Won't you ? " 
A. " 9,725."*' 

Q. '^Can you tell me the color of this enamel?" 

A. " Blue> 

Q. "Tell the initials." 

" Say ? " 
A. "B.C." 
Q. " Say to whom." 

" I want to know." 
A. " C. H." 
Q. " Say these stones." 
A. " Diamonds." 
Q. " Will you tell how many ?" 
A. "Five." 

If it is a double case, the simple word "yes" 
conveys the intelligence, after " to whom it belongs." 
If an open case, the word " well " is used. 

PLAYINO CARDS. 

These will be found in the sixteenth set, and the 
order of suits in the eighteenth. We will take the 
nine of spades as having been presented. The 
question will be — 

'^Say, what is this?" 

" Canyon tell?" 

" A playing card." 

" Do you know the suit ? " 



250 



MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



" Now, then." 
Do" is four, which means spades, and ''now" is 
nine. The cards are told as follows: — First the 
'•playing card," second the suit, third the number or 
picture. If, after the preliminary question is put 
and answered, it is an ace, the interlocutor says 
"right;" if a king, "that's right;" if a queen, 
" good ; " if a jack, " very good." 

MONEY. 

This will be found classed in the eighth set, the key 
to which is, " Look at this." 

No. 6 of the set is described as a "piece of 
money," and is always of a less value than a dollar. 
We will take a silver quarter of the date of 1820. 
The question is — 

" Look at this." 

" What is it ? " 

Ans. " A piece of money." 

Ques. " Let me know the amount. Will you?" 

Ans. " Twenty -five cents." 

As we know that "Let "is 2 and "Will" 5. If 
the coin is of this century, only the two last figures 
are asked ; if of a prior date, the three last. The 
question therefore is — 

" Look at the date." 

" Hurry." 

— which would bring the answer " 1820." A foreign 
coin is furnished, say of Kome. The question would 
be — " Look at this ; do you know^ what it is ? " The 
answer is, " A coin." " What country ? " " Italy," 
as Italy stands sixth in the list of countries, as will 
be seen by referring to the table. A Mexican dollar 



APPENDIX. 



251 



will elicit the question, Look at this, now." "A 
silver dollar." Tell me the country The reply 
will be Mexico, as that country stands tenth on the 
list. A Treasury note is presented of the value of 
$50, the question is, Look at this ; be quick." 
Answer-— "A Treasury note." " Will you tell me 
the amount ; come," which means 5 and 0, or $50 — 
"come" being a substitute for ''hurry." Again, a 
$2.50 gold piece is presented, and the question is as 
before, "Look at this, will you ? " Answer — "A gold 
piece.'^ "Let me know the amount, won't you; 
come? " — " let," " won't " and " come " standing for 
" 250." 

OTHER EXAMPLES. 

"Pray, what is this? " " Tell me." The answer is 
a "key," key being the tenth article of the set. Now, 
in order to tell what kind of a key, these simple 
words will explain — " 

" Yes " — a watch key. 

''Well "—a door key. 

" Good " — a safe key. 

" What is here ? " "Say?" The answer is " pipe." 
Now, to ascertain what kind of a pipe as above, the 
words — 

"Yes" — a meerschaum pipe. 

" Well " — a w^ooden pipe. 

"Good" — a clay pipe. 

" Can you see this ? " " Please say ? " Answer is 
"comb"*^ 

" Yes " — a pocket -comb. 
" Weil " — a toilet comb. 

"Good" — a curry-comb. "Can you see this?" 
"Are you going to tell ? " The answer is "brush." 



252 



MODERN MAGICIANS AXD THE IK ^VORKS. 



" Yes — hair-brush. 
"Well"— clothes-brush. 
" Good " — paint-brush. 

If an article is presented which is not down in the 
sets, the alphabet will have to be resorted to, and the 
article spelled out. 

HOW IT WAS DONE WITHOUT ASKING- QUESTIONS. 

As soon as my back was turned to the audience, 
and a large, silk handkerchief thrown over my head, 
the stool on which I was seated, containing a hollow 
leg, was placed directly over a hole in the stage. A 
rubber pipe was passed up which connected with a 
tin tube running underneath the stage to the back of 
the curtain. The assistant saw through a hole in the 
curtains all articles which were held up, and con- 
veyed the intelligence to me through the pipe, l^one 
but large articles, such as hats, umbrellas, sticks, etc., 
were taken, and as this part always closed the second- 
sight part of the performance, it was clear to the 
minds of all " that it wasn't done by questions," and 
this concludes the second-sight mystery, which so 
perplexed the world, and which I never would have 
exposed, but for the death of my lamented friend, 
Kobert Heller. 



THE APPENDIX AND KEYS. 





ALPHABET. 




A is H 


J is L 


S isN 


B is T 


K is Pray 


TisP 


C is S 


L is C 


U is Look 


DisG 


M is 


y is Y 


E is F 


NisD 


WisR 


F is E 


isY 


X is See th 


Gis A 


Pis J 


YisQ 


His I 


Q is W 


Z is Hurry 


lisB 


RisM 




Hurr}^ up- 


— Eepeat last letter. 






NUMBERS. 




1 is Say or Speak 7 is Please 


or Pray 


2 is Be, Look or Let 8 is Are or Ain't 


3 is Can or Can't 9 is Noav 




4 is Do or Don't 10 is Tell 




5 is Will or 


Won't is Hurry or Come 



6 is What 

" Well " is to repeat the last figure. 

COLORS. 

1 — Is white. 5— Is red. 

2 — Is black. 6 — Is green. 

3 — Is blue. 7 — Is yellow 

4 — Is brown. 8 — Is gray. 

253 



254: MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



THE METALS. 

1 -Gold. 6— Iron. 

2— Silver. 7— Tin. 

3— Brass. 8— Platina. 

4 — Copper. 9 — Steel. 

5 — Lead. 

THE SETTING. 

1 — Diamond. 6 — Garnet. 

2— Ruby. 7 — Emerald. 
8 — Pearl. 8 — Turquoise. 
4 — Amethyst. 9— Carbuncle. 
5_0nyx. 10— Topaz. 

The Stone— Opal. 

OF WHAT. 

[This set to describe the sex, etc., of the pictures.] 

1 — Lady. 6 — Group. 

2 — Gentleman. 7 — Animal. 

3 — Boy. 8 — Drawing. 

4— Girl. 9— Sketch. 

5— Child. 

COUNTRIES. 

1 — America. 6 — Italy. 

2 — England. 7— Spain. 

3 — France. 8 — Canada. 

4 — Germany. 9 — Foreign. 

5 — Eussia. 10 — Mexico. 

THE MATERIAL. 

l_Wood. 6— Rubber. 

2— Stone. 7— Glass. 

3— Marble. 8— Bone. 

4 — Bronze. 9— Ivory. 

5 — Lava. 10 — China. 



APPENDIX. 



^55 



THE FABRIC. 



1— Silk. 
2_Wool. 

3 - Cotton 

4 — Linen. 



5 — Leather. 

6— Kid. 

7 — Buckskin. 

8 — Lace. 



WATCHES. 



The maker's name ? 

Or what company's make? 

[This is to tell the maker's name of watches.] 

1 — American Watch Co. 6 — Johnson. 

2— Waltham Watch Co. 7~Swiss. 

3— Elgin Watch Co. S— 

4— Dueber Watch Co. 9— 

5— Tobias. 10— 



FIRST SET. 



What article is this ? 

1 — Handkerchief. 6 — Basket. 

2 — l^eckerchief. 7 — Beet. 

3 — Bag. 8 — Comforter. 

4 — Glove. 9 — Head-dress. 

5 — Purse. 10— Fan. 



SECOND SET. 



What is this? 



1— Watch . 6— ^Tecklace. 



2 — Bracelet. 7 — Eing. 

3 — Guard. 8 — Kosary. 

4 — Chain. 9 — Cross. 

5 — Breast-pin. 10 — Charm. 



256 



MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



THIRD SET. 

What may this be ? 

1— Hat. 6— Muff. • 

2— Cap. 7— Cape. 

3— Bonnet. 8— Boa. 

4— Cuff. 9— Inkstand. 

5— Collar. 10— Mucilage. 



FOURTH SET. 



What is here ? 

1— Pipe. 

2 — Cigar. 

3 — Cigar-holder. 

4 — Cigarette. 

5 — Tobacco. 



6 — Tobacco box. 

7 — Tobacco pouch. 

8— Match. 

9— Match-box. 
10 — Cigar-lighter. 



FIFTH SET. 

What have I here ? 

1 — Spectacles. 6 — Opera-glass case. 

2 — Spectacle case. 7 — Magnifying glass. 

3 — Eye-glass. 8 — Telescope. 

4 — Eye-glass case. 9 — Compass. 

5 — ^Opera-glass. 10 — Corkscrew. 



SIXTH SET. 



Can you see this ? 



1— Knife. 

2 — Scissors. 

3— Pin. 
4~Needle. 
5 — Cushion. 



6— Toothpick. 

7— Comb. 

8— Brush. 

9— Thimble. 

10 — Looking-glass. 



APPENDIX. 



SEVENTH SET. 



Do you know what this is? 

1— Book. 6— Pamphlet 

2 — Pocket- cook. 7 — Programc 

3— Needle-book. 8— Bill. 

4 — Paper. 9 — Letter. 

5— Newspaper. 10 — Envelope. 



EIGHTH SET. 

Look at this ! 

1 — Bank-bill. 6— Piece of money. 

2 — Treasury note. 7 — Bank cheque. 

3 — Currency. 8 — Bond. 

4 — Coin. 9 — Silver dollar. 

5 — Gold-piece. 10— Postage stamp. 



NINTH SET. 

Now, what is this ? 

1— Stick. 6— Picture. 

2— Whip. 7— Shoe. 

3— Parasol. 8— Boot. 

4— Umbrella. 9— Button. 

5 — Umbrella-cover. 10 — Stud. 



TENTH SET. 

Tell me this? 

1— Ear-ring. 6— Fork. 

2 — Locket. 7 — Spoon. 

3 — Sleeve-button. 8 — Armlet. 

4 — Hair-pin. 9 — Ornament. 

5 — Clothes-pin. 10 — Check. 



258 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



ELEVENTH SET. 

I want to know this ? 

1 — Apple. 6 — Candy. 

2— Nut. 7— Popcorn. 

3 — Cake. 8 — Lozenge. 

4 — Orange. 9 — Grain. 

5 — Lemon. 10 — Wax. 

TWELFTH SET. 

Pray what is this ? 

1 — Screw. 6 — Knob. 

2— Hinge. T— Kule. 

3— Tool. 8— Lock. 

4— Nail. 9— Buckle. 

5— Tack. 10~Key. 

THIRTEENTH SET. 

You know what this is ? 

1— Shot. 6 — Percussion cap. 

2 — Powder. 7 — Cartridge. 

3 — Bullet. 8— Surgical instrument. 

4 — Gun. 9 — Musical instrument. 

5— Pistol. 10— Tuning Fork. 

FOURTEENTH SET. 

Quick ! This article. 

1 — Bouquet. 6 —Toy. 

2— Bouquet holder. 7 — Flag. 
3__Flower. 8— Bottle. 

4 — Wreath. 9— Game. 

5— Leaf. 10— Doll. 



APPENDIX, 



FIFTEENTH SET. 

^^ame. this article. 

1— Pen. 6— Case. 

2— Pen-holder. 7— Spool. 

3— Pencil. 8— Soap. 

4 — Eraser. 9 — Perfumery. 

5— Rubber. 10— Cup. 

SIXTEENTH SET. 

Say, what is this ? 

1 — Card. 6 — Bunch keys. 

2— Card-case. 7 — Tablet. 

3 — Playing card. 8 — Cord. 

4 — Button-hook. 9 — Tweezers. 

5 — Key ring. 10 — Cork. 

SEVENTEENTH SET. 

This article ? 

1 — Bible. 6 — Hymn-book. 

2 — Testament. 7 — Music. 

3— Tract. 8— Smelling-bottle. 

4 — Book-mark. 9 — Vinaigrette. 

5 — Prayer-book. 10 — Strap. 

EIGHTEENTH SET. 

Playing cards. 

1 — Diamonds. 3 — Clubs. 

2 — Hearts. 4 — Spades. 

" Right ''—Ace. " Good "—Queen. 

That's right"— King. "Yery good"— Jack. 

NINETEENTH SET. 

Devices. 

1 — Masonic. 4 — Druids. 

2— Odd Fellows. 5 — Musical. 

3— K. of P. 



NOTE 5. 



MRS. DAFFODIL DOWNY'S LIGHT AND DARK SEANCE. 

Dramatis Personw , 

Sir Everleigh Staid (a rich widower) — light tweed 
suit ; flaxen wig ; patent leather boots ; eye-glass ; 
masher collar. 

Dr. Blade a spirit medium) — long black frock 
coat ; gray wig and beard ; blue spectacles. 

Morsel (Dr. Blade's assistant) — seedy black suit; 
long black wig ; clean shaven ; red nose ; general 
groggy appearance. 

Mrs. Daffodil Downy — evening dress ; as attract- 
ive looking as possible. 

James — Mrs. Downy's footman in livery. 

Female character for ghost. 

SCENE. 

Drawing room ; small occasional table in center of 
stage ; piano at prompter's side ; spiritual cabinet in 
parts at opposite side ; chairs ; bells, etc. 

PROPERTIES. 

Violin and bow ; cane ; skeleton fakes ; dress and 
black robe for ghost, etc. (Curtain rises, discover- 
ing Mrs. Daffodil Downy playing and singing at 
the piano.) 

860 



APPENDIX. 



261 



Mrs. D. D. (after completing song, soliloquizes) : 
In five minutes they will be here. How will it all 
end ? It is a bold card to pW but the only one 
worth playing. (Rises and rings bell.) 

Enter James, 

James: Did you ring, ma'am '{ 

Mrs. D. D.: Yes. Is everything in apple-pie 
order and the doctor ready to begin % 

James: Oh, yes, ma'am. 

Mrs. D. D.: I hope the doctor has kept his head 
cool? 

James: Lor' yes, ma'am ; but Mr. Morsel has 
eaten and drank more than enough for three per- 
sons. 

Mrs. D. D.: I do hope he will be in a fit state 
for the evening's work. Remember, after Si>' Ever- 
leigh comes, to announce them as though they had 
just arrived. 

James: Very good, ma'am. (Exit.) 

Mrs. D. D. (soliloquizing) : How will it all end? 
(Knock heard ; re-enter James). 

James: Sir Everleigh Staid. (Sir E. S. enters at 
same time.) 

Mrs. D. D.: Dear Sir Everleigh, pray be seated ; 
(turning to James) leave us, James. (Sir E. S. takes 
chair.) 

James (aside) : I suppose they want a little quiet 
spooning ; I was a master once myself. (Mrs. D. D. 
sits down at piano ; Sir E. S. toys with handkerchief 
and eye-glass; Mrs. D. D. sighs; Sir E. S. sighs — 
business. Mrs. D. D. moves her chair a little nearer 
to Sir E. S., who, at the same time, while sitting on 



262 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

his chair, recedes from her; the same business re- 
peated.) 

Mrs. D. D.: Why are you so near and yet so far ? 

Sir E. S.: Ah ! that is an advertisement ; (thinks) 
Oh, I know — free by mail for six cents. 

Mrs. D. D.: I hope, dear Sir Everleigh, we shall 
succeed in making you a convert to spiritualism. 

8ir E. S.: Oh, dear, no ! I shall never believe in 
such nonsense. It is all very well for fools and 
im posters, but I flatter myself I know better than 
to be taken in by such rubbish. 

Mrs. D. D,: Ah ! you have such strength of 
mind ; but I think it is such a beautiful idea to be 
able to converse with the spirits of our departed 
friends. Now, would you not like to see your late 
wife? 

Sir E. S. (starting and answering quickly): Oh, 
certainly not. 

Mrs. D. D.: Oh, why did you ever promise the 
late Lady Staid that you would not marry again ? 

Sir E. S.: She said it would be impossible for 
her to die if I didn't promise, and I firmly believe 
she never would have died if I hadn't. 

Mrs. D. D.: Do you intend to keep your word ? 

Sir E. S. (indignantly) : Mrs. Daffodil Downy ! 

Mrs. D .D.: Well, but if the spirit of the late 
lamented Lady Staid were to appear at our seance 
to-night and relieve you of your pledge ? 

Sir E. S.: I should think her disposition had 
changed considerably for the better. 

Mrs. B. D. (smihng): Well, slightly! (Hiding 
her face behind her fan) you know that I love you. 



APPENDIX. 



263 



Sir E. S.: And you know that I love you (pause) 
as a brother. 

Mrs, D. D.: My dear Sir Everleigh, I love you 
with the closest affection that the laws of society 
allow. 

Sir E. S.: But, on reflection, I don't think there 
is much love lost between sister and brother, as a 
rule. 

Mrs. D. D.: We don't love each other for the 
sake of wealth, do we ? 

Sir E. S. (sarcastically) : Oh no ! we don't love 
each other for the sake of wealth nor for beauty, 
do we? 

Mrs. D. D. (sarcastically) : Oh dear no ! nor for 
youth either. 

Sir E. S.: Well, as we can not marry, let us love 
each other platonically. Don't misunderstand me, 
my dear Mrs. Daffodil Downy. If it were not for 
that unfortunate promise, I would marry you at 
once. 

Mrs. D. D.: Well let us hope that the spirit will 
intercede for us. 

Sir E. S.: I never will believe in such sanguinary 
tricks. (During the last few words, they have been 
gradually approaching each other, and finally 
embrace; Sir E. S. kneels at her feet^ takes her 
hand and kisses it, when they are interrupted by the 
entrance of James. Situation.) 

James: Dr. Blade and Morsel, ma'am. 

(Enter Dr. Blade and Mr. Morsel. The latter takes 
a chair at the back of stage. Exit James). 

Dr.: How do you do, Mrs. Daffodil Downy ? 



264: MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

Mrs.D. D.: Quite well, thank you. Dr. Blade, 
allow me to introduce you to Sir Everleigh Staid. 
(Sir E. S. and the Doctor shake hands and then 
walk up stage to Morsel.) 

Dr. (bowing to Sir E. S. and pointing to Mor- 
sel) : The medium, Sir Everleigh — he is rather deaf. 

(Doctor walks to piano and converses inaudibly 
with Mrs. D. D.) 

Sir E. S. (to Morsel) : How do you do? 

Morsel (solemnly) : Yery dry. 

Sir E. S. (to Doctor) : Yes, he is very deaf. 

(To Morsel) Shall we have a good seance ? 

Morsel: I like it cold, without sugar, if you 
please. 

D7\ (turning towards Sir E. S.) : The medium is 
very deaf. 

Mrs. D. D. (aloud to Doctor) : Sir Everleigh 
does not believe in spiritualism. 

Dr. (to Sir E. S.): When you have the pleasure 
of being in the presence of the spirits, you will, no 
doubtj alter your opinion on the subject. Mrs. 
Daffodil Downy is a strong believer. Let us see 
what manifestation we can produce. (Doctor 
brings table towards foot-lights and stands behind 
it. Morsel takes a chair and sits at one side of 
table, and Sir E. S. at the other, close to Mrs. D. D., 
who commence to talk confidentially to Sir E. S. 
Doctor Coughs to attract their attention, but with- 
out success. They continue flirting. Doctor coughs 
again and leans over Sir E. S., who at the same 
moment looks up, and their heads come in contact. 
Comic situation.) 



APPENDIX. 



265 



Sir E. S.: This is marvellous. 

Dr.: 1 shall have the pleasure this evening of 
invoking the spirits from the other world, to prove 
to us by their manifestations that they possess the 
power of communicating with the friends they have 
left on earth. The spirits have the faculty of materi- 
alizing. The whole universe is made up of atoms. 
One of the most wonderful of these atoms was that 
of the celebrated Duke of Wellington at the Battle 
of Waterloo, when he exclaimed, " Up, guards, and 
at them ! " 

(During the foregoing speech. Morsel waves arms 
about in a mysterious manner and gradually appears 
to fall into a trance. The Doctor and Sir E. S. 
place their hands on table and the medium does 
likewise.) 

Mrs. D. D.: Now I feel the spirits here. 

(Baps heard in Talle.) 
Sir E. S.: Are the spirits here? 
Dr.: Sweet spirits, are you willing to communi- 
cate with us ? 

(Two rajps.) 

Dr.: Yes, the spirits will speak to us. How 
many spirits are present to-night ? 

(One rap.) 
Only one? Can you tell us your name? 

{Two raps. 
Yes. May we use the alphabet ? 

(Two raps.) 

Yes. 

(The Doctor commences to repeat the alphabet.) 
Dr.: " A." 



26G MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



All: "A." 

Dt,: "A" is the first letter. 

(The Doctor recommences the alphabet and 
another nip is heard when he reaches the letter ^'L.") 

All: '' A," ^'L" (Sir E. S. looks frightened). 

(This business is repeated until the name "Algor" 
is spelled out, when Sir E. S. jumps up and exclaims : 
That is my wife's name ) 

(The table shakes violently, is attracted from the 
floor by the hands of the Doctor and finally moves 
about the room.) 

Dr.: We will now endeavor to produce more 
manifestations. (The Doctor and Morsel proceed to 
build up cabinet in center of stage. The table hav- 
ing been removed to back of stage. Sir E. S. seats 
himself on chair opposite side. Mrs. D. D. on chair 
at prompter's side.) 

Sir E, S. (to the Doctor) : Are any of your 
spirits young ladies ? 

Dr.: Oh, yes ; some are young ladies. 

M7S. D. D, (to the Doctor) : You will never 
allow Sir E. S. to be misguided ? 

Dr.: Mrs. Daffodil Downy calls young lady 
guides " misguides." (The Doctor and Morsel have 
now completed building up the cabinet.) 

Dr.: Now, I think. Sir Everleigh, it would be 
impossible to imagine a more simple structure — be 
good enough to step inside and examine for yourself. 
(Sir E. S. enters cabinet ; partly closes doors and 
thrusts his hands through the apertures in doors.) 

Sir E. S.: I think those are the only sort of 
spirit hands which we shall see to-night. 



APPENDIX. 



267 



Dr.: We shall soon convince you to the contrary ; 
however, first let me show you that there are no 
means of ingress or egress except the doors. (The 
cabinet is here turned round, so that the audience 
can see the back, and then reversed to its original 
position.) 

Dr, (to. Sir E. S.): Now I see your cane, will 
you lend it me for a moment \ 

Sir E. S.: Certainly. There is no trickery about 
that. 

Dr.: Oh, no. I will now place it within the 
cabinet. (Does so, and opens doors of cabinet wide.) 

Sir E. S. (looking in cabinet) : There's nobody 
inside, certainly. 

Dr.: I court your fullest investigation. (Dr. 
closes cabinet, and cane immediately appears pro- 
truding from the top of cabinet. Dr. removes same 
and offers it to Sir E. S.) 

Sir E. S.: No, thanks ; I would rather not. 

Dr.: Why not? There is nothing wrong about 
it. (Dr. lets stick fall on the floor and then attracts 
it upwards by apparent mesmeric power, when the 
stick commences to dance. Business with stick. 
Morsel puts a chair on the left-hand side of cabinet, 
and seats himself on back of chair, with his feet 
resting on the seat ; apparently falls asleep, waving 
his hands as though playing an imaginary con- 
certina.) 

Sir E. S. (to Dr.): There is something wrong 
with your man. 

Dr. : Ah ! he is now with the sweet spirits. (Dr. 
passes his hands over Morsel's face, as though 
mesmerizing him.) 



268 MODERN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 



Mrs, D, D,: I am afraid the spirits have got into 
his head. 

Dr.: It is a very common practice when pro- 
ducing spiritual manifestations to place the medium 
inside the cabinet, but I shall endeavor to exhibit 
the same manifestations while the medium remains 
outside the whole time. (The Dr. again opens the 
doors of the cabinet to prove that it is empty and 
again closes them. Kap heard within.) 

Dr.: It is the spirit of the late Lady Staid. She 
has promised to be with us to-night. (Taking violin 
and bow from the table.) I will ask her to discourse 
sweet music on this instrument. (Dr. opens cabinet, 
hangs up violin and bow inside; closes doors; 
violin is heard to play. Sir E. S. attempts to open 
doors of cabinet, but he, the Dr., interposes and 
prevents him. Morsel makes movements of playing 
imaginary violin.) 

Dr.: I can not allow it, Sir Everleigh. It is 
against our rules. (Notwithstanding the Dr.'s inter- 
position, Sir E. S. tries to open the doors. 

Dr.: Pray, calm yourself. Sir Everleigh. Do you 
recognize the melody \ 

Sir E. S. (agitated) : Oh, yes ; oh, yes ; it is the 
one of which the late Lady Staid was so passionately 
fond. (Yiolin suddenly ceases to play. Dr. opens 
doors of cabinet and exposes interior, showing violin 
and bow hanging up as placed at first. Cabinet 
otherwise empty.) 

Sir E. S. (excitedly): I am rapidly becoming a 
convert to spiritualism. Have you any more mani- 
festations to offer ? (Rap heard within the cabinet. 



APPENDIX. 



269 



A woman's face gradually becomes visible at one of 
the apertures. Sir E. S. looking on intently ; face 
becomes distinctly visible; Sir E. S. starts up from 
his chair and exclaims : " My wife! my wife ! " Tries 
again to open cabinet, and, while close to doors, ^a 
hand is thrust through the aperture, which clutches 
and pulls off his wig. Situation. Sir E. S. puts his 
hands up to his head, and, discovering his loss, rushes 
away in consternation,) 

Dt. (picking up wig and restoring it to Sir E. S.) : 
Calm yourself, my dear sir; there is nobody there. 
(Opens cabinet and shows it empty.) 

S)iT E. S.: There is something very peculiar about 
this. (Dr. closes cabinet.) 

Dr.: The sweet spirit will now materialize, bat 
only under conditions of darkness. You must, there- 
fore, excuse my putting out the lights (turning to 
audience). If the seance is interrupted by anybody 
striking a light, the manifestations will at once be 
stopped ! (Lights put out. Ghost gradually mat'e- 
rializes and floats towards Sir E. S., and in the dim 
light is seen to take his hands and rise above the 
stage.) 

Sir K S.: I am floating towards you in the air, 
Daffy. The late Lady Staid has relieved me of my 
pledge. I am now indeed convinced. (Ghost slowly 
descends and releases Sir E. S., and finally disap- 
pears. Skeleton immediately becomes visible ; music ; 
business; skeleton dances; limbs and head become 
disunited ; legs dance independently of body ; head 
flies about hall; skeleton becomes reunited and dis- 
appears ; loud crash heard ; lights turned up ; cabinet 



270 MODEKN MAGICIANS AND THEIR WORKS. 

seen over-turned ; Morsel wakes up ; Sir E. S. and 
Mrs. D. D. embrace each other ; Dr. standing in 
center of stage.) Thank you, Dr., thank you ; we 
have had a most delightful seance, and I will engage 
you to produce your manifestations every evening, 
until further notice. 



The above farce is the one Maskelyne and Cooke 
produced so successfully at Egyptian Hall, London. 



INDEX. 



Abbott, Eddie 35 

AckermaDv Wm 30 

Adrien, P^re 8 

Aerolite Illusion 239 

Amphitrite Illusion 174 

Astarte Illusion 81 

Aristos, N. K 54 

Alexandre, Herr 239 

Alkahazar's Spirit Bell i72 

Aime 131 

Anderson, " Wizard of the North " 10-33-37 

Anderson, Prof 4«j 

Ansbach, Salo 55 

Bamberg Family 42 

Bamberg-, " Old" 318 

Bamberg, David T 42 

Balabrega, J. M 17-19-135 

Barnello 22-185 

Bacon, Roger. . .-. ... 131 

Baldwin, Prof . S. S 149 

Baldwin, Clara 149 

Basch, Prof 43 

Bellachini 11 

Beyersdorf, Louis 52 

Becker Prof 171 

Bishop,' Washington Irving ." ." .' .' .' .' .' ." ." .' .' .' .' .' ." ." .' .' .' . .' . ." ." .' ." ." ." ." .' .' .' ." ." .* .' i09-i24-126 

Blitz, Signer 37 

Bosco ' 11 

Brazy 8 

Braid, Dr 91 

Bridge, Charles H 76 

Brendel 129 

Brown, J. Randall 108-1J;6-141 

Buatier De Kolta 40-151-152-158 

Burnham, Dr 33 

Butler, Dr. G. F 116 

Castilho, De Brothers 131 

Carroll, Clever 33 

Canaris, Prof 34 

Castan, Gustav 174 

Cazeneuve, Prof . 45 

Cinque valli. 23 1 

Charcot, Prof 91 

Charles the Great 130 

Chalons. 8 

Chase, Mr. 21 

Childs, Geo. W 46 

Cook, Marion 27 

Coulter, Frazer 203 

Comus 8 

Comte. , 8 

Cocoon, The Illusion. 158 

271 



272 



IKDEX. 



CourtQis 8 

Cremation Illusion 166 

Cyrus 138 

Cyneas 128 

Curtis, Frank 71 

Crookes, Dr. F. R. S 145 

Darvin, Prof 45 

D'Alvini 169-219 

Davis, Dr. Alex 33 

Davis, Dr. Charles G 105 

Dase, Zacharias 129 

Daven port Brothers 81 

DeCastilho Brothers 131 

Decapitation, Vanek's 164 

Decapitation Chair 160 

Decapitation, Black Art 163 

Decapitation Cabinet 161 

De Gentry, Lucy 124 

DeRovere, Jules 8 

DeVere, Prof 43 

Dexter, Prof '31 

Dick & Fitzgerald 229 

Dickson, Prof 46 

Donati, Prof 104 

Dobler, Prof 11 

Downy s, Mrs. DafiEodil- Seance 260 

Durand, H. W... 183 

Duperrey, Prof 46-23T 

Dudley, Officer. ... 31 

Erickson, O. 53 

Fay, Anna Eva 141 

Fillebrown, Charles F 3L 

Fox, Imro, Prof 20 

Fulton, Mrs 106 

Fulton, Robert 106 

Gatchell, Dr. Charles 116 

Garner, Charles. 1U9 

Gentry, Lucy De 124 

Goldberg, Prof 33 

Growth of Flowers 86 

Gustavus Adolphus 46 

Hamilton, Miss 32 

Hatton, Henry 33-133 

Haslett, Charles 52 

Havemeyer, W. A 65 

Hartz, Prof 19-41-85-86 

Hartz and Levy 19 

Harrington, Prof 24 

Haviland, Prof 2it 

Hayden, Margaret 140 

Hercat, Prof 169 

Hertz, Carl 19-41-334-238-239 

Heller, Haidee 37-243 

Heller, Robert 15-19-34-37-53-135-242-253 

Heller's Second-Sight Code 24'i 

Hellis, Robert 53 

Herrmann, Carl 64-231 

Herrmann, Alexander 66-160-163-169-323-232-238 

Herrmann's, Alexander, Cremation 83 

H ermann, M 45-237-238 

Houdin, Robert 11-38-46-135-218-242 

Higgins, F. L 182 

Holden, Dr 39-189-231 



IKDEX. 



273 



Hortonsius 139 

ffume, Prof 304 

Hunt. Fred 343 

Jacoby- Harms, Prof 43 

Jacobs. Prof — 46 

Johnson, Prof 106 

Johnstone, Paul Alexander 115 

Johns, Effie 38-39-33 

Justus Lipsius . 139 

Kellar, Harry 39-66-73-169-333-339 

Kellar's Growth of Flowers 86 

Kerr, Thomas H 53 

Kiralfy Brothers 37 

Knudson, Jno. B . 53 

Kolta, BuatierDe 40-151-153-158 

Kudarz, Prof. Robert ...... .35-39 

L'Assommoir, Morgreni de 53 

Lady from an Envelope 171 

Lees, The 33-33 

Le Tort, Prof 17-18 

Little, John W 33 

Little Pearl 29-30 

Llschke, Oscar 45 

Lola, Mile 38-39-33 

LuRke, Wm 303 

Lutz, Herr 234 

Lynn, Dr 39 

Marvelle, Prof 33-14x 

Macaire, Sid 134-136 

Martino's Sphinx 84 

Macallister, Prof ... 37 

Markgraf , Herr 334 

Maskelyne, John Nevil 38-40-139-153-158-173 

Mesmer 91 

Merlins, The 139-140 

Meinecke, Christian 53 

Mithridates 138 

Mimas 130 

Miller, Dr. Adam 329 

MorrittsTne 140 

Modesta Pozzo 129 

Moderate, Fonsa 139 

McDonald, Prof . Charles 166 

McDonald's Crcmat on 1«6 

" Mystery of "She " Illusion 170 

Morphet, Prof 23 

Nickle, Prof. Robert 34 

Ober, Georg-e 146 

Olivier 8 

Orrin Brothers 39-75 

Palmer, Robert , 243 

Palanquin Trick 3'^9 

Parshal, Mrs, John 39-33 

Pastor, Tony 33-27 

Patrizio, Prof ...46-133 

Pearl, Little 39-30 

Philadelphia 11 

Philippe 9 

Pinetti 8 

Pinauds, The 237 

Pine:ree, Mr 143 

Pliny 138 

Powell Brothers 21 



274 



INDEX. 



Powell Prof 169 

Powell, Eddie 204 

Pope Pius VII 10 

Prejean 8 

Pythag-oras 130 

Pyrrhus 128 

Quintiiian 128 

Ransom, Elmer P 23 

Reno, Prof . Edward 15 

Reed, Charley 34 

Reventlow, Carl Otto 131 

Robinson, H. M 30-105 

Robinson. William 20-169 

RoberLh, Prof 133 

Rohss, Prof 23-23 

Roitair, Prof 22 

Roucleres, The 136 

Rovere, Jules De 8 

Ryerson, George 71 

Samuels, Prof 16 

Samuels' Growth of Flowers 88 

Scherzel, Vincent 131 

Schwiegerling, Prof 238 

Scipio 128 

Second-Sig-ht— Heller s Code 242 

Seeman, Baron Hartwig 19- 46-169-153 207 

Seeman, Prof. Adolph 51-153 

Semon, Prof. Zera 14 

Simonides 130 

"She Mj^stery of— Illusion 170 

Spirit Bell of Prof. Alkahazar 172 

Starr, C. W 181 

Steen, Prof. Char]es and Martha 149 

Stodare, Prof 66 

Stroubaika Illusion , 233 

Stuart Cumberland 109-124 

Taylor, Frank 54 

Taylor, Prof. E. C 136 

Taylor, Prof. C. T 22-206 

Thompson, Den 71 

Thorn, Prof 45 

Torrini 9 

Transparent Turk Illlusion 85 

Vanek, Prof 163 

Vanek's Decapitation 164 

Vanishing Lady 17-154-155 

Vanishing Lady in Verse 157 

Vere, Prof. De 4^ 

Vert elli. Prof 32 

Verona, Prof 22 

"Ward, Artemas 39 

Wanamaker, John 35 

Warren, Owen Grenliffe 230 

Watson, L. T 182 

Willio, Prof . Henry 26 

Willmann,Carl 45 

" Wizard of the North "—Anderson 10-33-37 

Wood, Will B 22-73-60-239 

Xenophon 128 

Zamloch.Prof 20 

Zanzio»Prof 20-323 



I 



